Johan Edfors Rolls Back the Years on the Challenge Tour

WHILE Rory McIlroy ponders how he is going to spend the $11.m he collected for winning the FedEx Cup, Ian Poulter looks at his car collection and decides which Ferrari he is going to use to go and collect the shopping and Miguel Angel Jimenez lights his Cuban cigars with 50 euro notes, it is a very different life on the Challenge Tour.

For most, it is a case of counting the euros as they wonder how on earth they are going to manage to get to the next tournament, pay the air fares, hotel bill and find the money to pay a caddie. For the lucky few, there is the promise of a life on the European Tour at the end of the season. And for others, there is the opportunity to return to the main tour to have another try.

Falling into the final category is Johan Edfors, of Swede, a three-time winner on the European Tour and a man who once seemed destined for the big time. But it didn't quite happen and he struggled to keep his playing rights. Now, at the age of 41, he is celebrating a three-shot win at the Terre dei Consoli Open to climb to 33^rd in the Road to Oman Rankings.

The Swede kept his composure on the back nine, making five birdies coming home to close with a three under par 69 and top the leaderboard on 13 under par. He was  one shot clear of overnight leader Victor Riu before a birdie on the 17^th, coupled with Riu making bogey, gave him a three-shot advantage playing the last at Terre dei Consoli Golf Club.

That winning feeling pic.twitter.com/blPfF1unLp

— Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) October 9, 2016

And after a final par Edfors expressed his relief. “I feel great, obviously,” he said. “It’s nice to be playing some decent golf again, it’s been a while. I haven’t played much this year really, but I’ve been practising a lot and started hitting the ball well on the range, I just haven’t been able to bring it out on the course.

“This was the first week that I’ve been pretty steady off the tee and given myself a lot of good chances for birdie, and then my putting was really good as well. I was a little tentative in the beginning of the round and didn’t get off to a very good start there, and on the 10th I was two over but saw I still had a chance, only two behind and no reason to hold back.

“I managed to hole a few putts, made three birdies in a row, another on 15, had a good chance on 16, and then made a nice one there on 17 so I had a three-shot cushion going down the last. Victor was only one behind and he put it in the middle of the green and I knew that if I hit a pitching wedge I could never put it too long, so it was a pretty aggressive club, and I drew it in to the flag, left myself an uphill putt, and then he three putted – it made playing 18 a lot easier!

“I think experience of winning helps. I tried to remember the last time I won a tournament two years ago in China and I had a similar sort of finish – I shot six under on the back after a poor front nine, so I’ve done it before and that makes it a little bit easier, and if you hole putts you get a little bit of momentum.

“This season has been weird – it’s not in my plans to go to China [for the Hainan Open], but I should be in the Grand Final and also in Final Stage of Qualifying School, so that makes it a little bit easier. I’m supposed to be playing the British Masters this week, as a past champion, but I’ve also had some success in China in the past so that’s a bit tempting too – we’ll see.”

READ: An early birthday present for Johan Edfors - victory at the #TDCOpenhttps://t.co/CgwoDq6n2F pic.twitter.com/2ncgVa9uI4

— Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) October 9, 2016

Before this victory, he had missed seven cuts this season and earned a paltry 39,000 euros from seven starts on the European Tour. Even with this win, his earnings from six starts on the Challenge Tour amount to just 43,186 euros. It is a world away from the life led by the likes of McIlroy.

Edfors’ compatriot Alexander Bjork shot the round of the day, a 66 that took him up to ten under par and into a share of second place alongside Spaniard Jordi Garcia Pinto. Bjork's finish takes him to fifth place in the rankings and guarantees that he will be playing on the European Tour next season.

Bogeys on his final two holes dropped Riu into a share of fourth on nine under par alongside Jack Doherty, Rhys Enoch, Julien Guerrier, José-Filipe Lima and Matt Wallace, while Nicolo Ravano was the leading Italian one shot further back in a tie for tenth place.

There are just three events left before the season-ending NBO Classic Grand Final at Muscat, Oman, so there is still some jockeying for position to be done. The rankings are led by two Englishmen, Jordan L Smith in first place with 153,899 euros and Sam Walker second with 136,170 euros.

Smith has played in 18 tournaments while Walker has turned out just 11 times. Smith, 23, has won once and enjoyed five top-six finishes while Walker has two wins, a tied second and a fifth-place finish - at 38 years of age, Walker proves that you don't have to be just out of nappies to succeed. But he has been there and failed before. You would, however, bet a substantial sum on money on Smith successfully making the transition, but who really knows?

If you are looking for a Challenge Tour graduate with all the tools to succeed then the man you need to keep an eye on is Romain Langasque, a 21-year-old Frenchman with eight top-10 finishes to his credit in 2016.

All of the above will be delighted if they can sit down at the end of their careers and say they achieved half of what Brandt Snedeker managed. The 35-year-old, fresh from a tremendous performance for the USA in the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine, continued his excellent form with a nine-shot win in the European Tour's Fiji International at Natadola Bay. He began the final round leading by three and added a 68 for a 72-hole total of 272, 16 under par.

In a distant second place was Michael Hendry, of New Zealand. Australia's Anthony Houston had been Snedeker's closest challenger after 54 holes but he slumped to a final round of 75 for a share of third place.