Julian Suri joined the growing list of Americans moving from Challenge Tour members to European Tour winners at the Made in Denmark.
South Africa’s Haydn Porteous is R786 352 richer after he closed with a 67 – good enough to secure him a T6 finish – at the Himmerland Golf and Spa Resort, but the headlines belonged to Suri on Sunday. Porteous began the day too far back to make an impact at the top of the leaderboard, but birdies at 4, 7 and 8 helped him move steadily into the top 10. A bogey at 9 was cancelled out by two late birdies to help the 2016 Joburg Open winner to a tally of -12.
The American joined the likes of Brooks Koepka and Peter Uihlein as Challenge Tour winners turned European Tour champs after his flawless 64, more than enough to get him over the line, despite competition from England’s David Horsey.
The D+D REAL Czech Challenge winner in May began today two behind Horsey, but picked up an early birdie at the second after sending his tee-shot to within three feet of the pin.
The 26-year-old then took the outright lead when he curled in from six feet for a birdie at the third, before picking up another shot at the fourth to make it three birdies in a row.
And after making another gain at the seventh, Suri knocked in his six-foot birdie putt at the eighth to move to 17-under.
With Suri reeling off five straight pars from the ninth, Horsey joined him at the summit after making back-to-back gains at the 11th and 12th.
And the pair holed similar birdie putts from around 12 feet at the 14th to get to 18-under.
Suri then rolled in a phenomenal putt from around 15 feet at the next to open up a one-shot lead.
And after safely finding the fairway with his tee-shot at the last, Suri finished with a par to lift the trophy.
Suri was thrilled with his final-round performance. He said: ‘To have seven birdies and be bogey-free in the final round was really solid. I’m pretty proud of that.
‘It was a blast out there. Especially in that atmosphere with the fans. It was really cool.
‘Everybody is so enthusiastic out there, with such genuine appreciation for the game and spectacle.
‘I just wanted to soak it up as much as I could.
‘I feel like my game belongs at the top of the game. This is definitely something I’ve worked for and kind of expected for a long time.
‘But to finally come out and do it, especially after the string of good finishes this summer, is really special.’
Spare a thought for Horsey though, as he entered the final hole just one stroke behind the eventual winner, but two wayward drives saw him finish with a triple bogey 7 to finish four behind Suri.
For Suri, the European circuit beckons as he enters the winner’s circle in only his seventh try.
Additional reporting: European Tour
