Joseba Torres (-16) came close to his first victory on the HotelPlanner Tour. He fought until the very end, but fell in a four-way playoff at the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge.
The eventual champion was David Horsey. The 40-year-old Englishman secured the third win of his career on the tour. Nearly 17 years have passed since his previous win on the HotelPlanner Tour back in July 2008 in Lyon, and almost ten years since his fourth and last victory on the DP World Tour.
Experience was key on the 73rd hole of the tournament, where he gifted himself a birdie to return to the winner’s circle 118 months later. A superb shot from the tee left him with a putt of barely a metre for birdie. He was the first to play and put a lot of pressure on the other three. Joseba hit a good shot but had about six metres for birdie to stay in the fight. He missed the putt, while Horsey capitalised on his excellent shot to make the birdie and taste victory once again after so long.
At 23, Joseba Torres was only playing his sixth tournament in the second division of the European circuit this week. So far, he has made four cuts and achieved three top 30 finishes, but he was missing the final push in the last two rounds. This week, he took a step forward, another one.
This Sunday, he started three shots behind the leading trio. However, one of them, Eddie Pepperell, was forced to withdraw before the start due to back discomfort. The Englishman, who is gradually returning to the game after taking a break for mental reset, was not part of the decisive round. Joseba had seven players ahead of him and set out to chase down the two leaders, David Horsey and Albin Bergstrom, who started at thirteen under par.
Joseba’s start was insufficient, correct and positive, but insufficient. We asked for a real moving day on Sunday, and with two birdies in the first nine holes at Le Vaudreuil, he remained three shots off the lead. Daniel Young completed the first nine with 31 shots, reaching the top at fifteen under par compared to the Spaniard’s twelve.
That’s when the beast in Joseba awoke. From the 11th to the 18th, he became a real force. To start, three consecutive birdies put him right in the mix. He teed off on the 15th tied at the top, but a bogey on that hole, combined with David Horsey’s good play, left him two shots behind with four holes to go. When it seemed victory was slipping away, the Englishman made a terrible double bogey on the 17th, opening the door for Allan James, Daniel Young, and Joseba himself. The Basque needed a birdie on the last hole and to wait for results in the clubhouse with a spectacular card of 66 shots, the second-best of the day. He had done his part. In his same group, Allan could have sealed it all with a birdie on the 72nd hole, but he missed the opportunity. Birdies from Young and Horsey sent everything to a four-way playoff, where Horsey ultimately prevailed.
Rocco Repetto Taylor (-9) and Lucas Vacarisas (-8) were the other two Spaniards with a chance of victory at Le Vaudreuil. The Andalusian started two shots off the lead and Lucas four. It wasn’t the day for either of them. In fact, of the top 35 on the final leaderboard, only two played over par this Sunday, and they were precisely the Spaniards.
Rocco Repetto Taylor handed in a card of 74 shots, which not only prevented him from competing for the win but also left him outside the top ten of the event. Nevertheless, Repetto accumulates a good result that places him among the top fifteen on the circuit and, at this moment, with one of the DP World Tour cards in hand.
Lucas Vacarisas, on the other hand, missed out on the coveted prize of a great result. Beyond his victory two years ago, the Catalan has not returned to the podium of a tournament. He can’t string together four consecutive rounds. This Sunday, Vacarisas signed a final card of 73 shots, dropping him to 25th place. Meanwhile, neither Quim Vidal (-1) nor Luis Masaveu (-1) managed to conquer the PGA de France course this Sunday, finishing tied for 52nd place in the event.
Check the final results of the Le Golf Vaudreuil Golf Challenge
