Mallow’s James Sugrue picked up his first cheque as a professional when he closed with a two-under 70 to finish 22nd in the Dormy Open in Sweden.

The Cork man made six birdies in the final round and 22 for the week to give his confidence a boost heading to Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links for next week’s Irish Challenge.

He picked up a cheque for €1,860 as he finished on six-under-par, nine strokes outside a playoff for the title that saw France’s Felix Mory secure his maiden European Challenge Tour victory in a play-off over Sweden’s Björn Hellgren at the Dormy Open.

Scores

The 26-year-old took a two-shot lead into the final round at Österåkers Golfklubb and he quickly extended his advantage with a birdie at the first. However, back-to-back bogeys followed as the Frenchman carded a two-over-par 74, meaning he finished on 15 under par, level with Hellgren (72) and one shot clear of three-time Challenge Tour winner Ricardo Gouveia.

Mory was able to stand firm and seal victory with a birdie four on their second trip down the par-five 18th in sudden death.

"I have surprised myself how quickly I have managed to win on the Challenge Tour," he said. "It's my first full season as I turned pro in 2019. It is surprising as I didn't play so well in South Africa, so I am really happy with the result today.

"It feels awesome. Getting it done is not easy, winning is always hard. It is only my second win as a pro. It really takes a lot of work and patience to get it done and I am happy that I came out on top today."

Four-time European Tour winner Marcel Siem, from Germany, finished fourth on 12 under par, while Denmark's Oliver Hundebøll, Norwegian Kristian Krogh Johannessen and England's Steven Tiley shared fifth place on 11 under par.

Portmarnock’s Conor Purcell shot a 75 alongside Sugrue to slip to 54th on one-under whole Michael Hoey was joint 72nd on seven-over after a 72.

The win has catapulted Mory up to fifth on the Road to Mallorca Rankings with 32,948 points and Hellgren has jumped to eighth on the Rankings, while South African Wilco Nienaber remains in first place.

The Road to Mallorca now moves to Ireland, with the Irish Challenge taking place at Portmarnock Links, Dublin, from Thursday, May 27 to Sunday, May 30.