Alexander Knappe moved to the top of the Road to Mallorca Rankings as a four under par round of 68 was enough to secure a fourth European Challenge Tour title at the B-NL Challenge Trophy by Hulencourt.
The German carded two birdies on the front nine to make the turn at two under before bursting into the lead with a chip-in eagle at the par-five tenth hole. The 33-year-old managed to keep the field at arm’s length on the way in with two bogeys and two birdies to finish on 20 under par, one clear of Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg who finished second on 19 under.
Knappe, who won the season opening Dimension Data Pro-Am in South Africa, was delighted to get his second victory on the 2022 Road to Mallorca and move to Number One spot on the Rankings following victory at Hulencourt.
“I’m pretty calm right now,” he said. “I’m so happy but it’s hard to describe because I’m still in the zone. It was great to get my first win at the start of the year in South Africa because I have put in so much hard work before this season.
“I was just hanging in there today. I missed a couple of short putts but overall played some solid golf. I had a little bit of luck on hole ten where I chipped in for eagle because it was probably running about ten feet past and off the green if it didn’t hit the flagstick. It was definitely my day.
The 33-year-old also won the Swiss Challenge and Hainan Open in 2016, and after a tough five-year period he is looking forward to a return to the DP World Tour next season.
“Being Number One on the Rankings now feels great,” he said. “Having two wins in one year is special but I’m going to chase that third win to make sure I have the best category next season on the DP World Tour.”
Englishman Nathan Kimsey posted a four under par 68 to move into third place on 18 under par, while Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin and French duo Robin Sciot-Siegrist and Jeong weon Ko share fourth on 17 under.
Knappe’s victory means he now tops the Road to Mallorca Rankings on 126,237 points, with countryman Freddy Schott 10,638 points behind in second place.
The Road to Mallorca will now take a one-week break before heading to Portugal for the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos from September 15-18, 2022.
