As anticipation builds towards another week at Al Mouj Golf for the Challenge Tour’s season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, we look back on some of the most notable performances at the tournament over the years – this time we recall Joël Stalter’s nervous wait from last year.
The final day of the season has its own unique energy. Heroes are made, lifelong dreams come true for some – and, cruelly, not for others.
12 months ago, Joël Stalter fell the right side of the ledger line, but only just. With 16 European Tour cards on offer from the Road to Oman Rankings, the Frenchman arrived in Muscat in 15th spot, with his 2017 Race to Dubai status still far from assured.
A poor start to the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final left him with ground to make up, his six over par total after 36 holes leaving him 44th in the 45-man field, and though a third round of 66 repaired some of the damage, Stalter’s position was precarious heading into the final day.
Out early, all Stalter could do was grind out a solid four under par round of 68 and wait to see if it would be enough – and events elsewhere on the course were not falling in his favour.
As befits the finale of a long and hard-fought season, the final day of the 2016 Road to Oman was full of high drama under intense pressure, as both Jens Dantorp and Adrien Saddier went on late charges in the Oman sunshine.
For Dantorp, only a win would be enough to gatecrash the top 16 at the 11th hour; for Saddier, only third outright or better would suffice. And both of them were racing up the leaderboard at quite a pace.
As each man stood on the 18th tee, their destiny was in their own hands. A helpless Stalter waited beside the final green knowing that a par for Saddier would guarantee him the third place he needed and that a par for Dantorp – sharing the tournament lead at that point – would, at worst, earn him a play-off with Bernd Ritthammer, and a chance of victory.
Neither player had made a bogey all round.
“One shot can mean everything,” Stalter said, reflecting on his round. This would prove to be the case, though the most significant shots of the 24 year old’s career were arguably not even struck by him.
Dantorp and Saddier both pulled their drives into the left-hand side semi rough before finding the greenside bunker with their approaches. For either of them, a testing but makeable up-and-down from the sand for par and the European Tour dream could soon become a reality.
With Stalter barely able to watch, both players splashed out and stood over 20ft par putts. One shot can mean everything. Neither ball dropped into the hole.
Ultimately Stalter finished just 741 points ahead of Saddier in the final European Tour spot, with Ritthammer parring the last for victory and Dantorp’s runner-up finish consigning him to 19th place in the Rankings.
In a funny way, nothing changed at last year’s NBO Golf Classic Grand Final – the same 16 players who were set to graduate ultimately finished in those top 16 positions at the end of the week.
And yet, along the way, a hell of a lot happened. Just ask Joël Stalter. One shot can mean everything – for him, it ended up meaning he became a European Tour golfer for the first time.
