Aaron Rai claims European win

The 22-year-old, who won the season-opening Barclays Kenya Open, showed skill and grit throughout the final day at La Cala Resort, coming through three nine-hole match play fixtures to claim his second title in four starts on the 2017 Road to Oman.

Rai, who learned his trade at Patshull Park, is now just one win away from booking his place on the full European Tour next year.

The 22-year-old started the second day of match play with a 2&1 victory over France’s Robin Sciot-Siegrist, before facing his fellow countryman Tom Murray in a finely-balanced semi-final – which Rai eventually claimed 2up.

And he saw off Ireland’s Gavin Moynihan in the final to pick up the first prize of 32,000 euros.

“It is an incredible start and obviously puts you in a very good position for the rest of the season,” he said.

“I think to win full stop is also incredible, no matter when it is in the year. It is not too different from my first victory as a win is still a win and it doesn’t happen very often in a golfer’s career.

“I think the format this week was very good. It was short enough to make it interesting to watch, but long enough to give yourself a chance of recovering if you don’t get off to the best of starts – so it’s a very good mix.

“I obviously got off to a very good start in the final, but that was only two holes in and you have to stay focused as seven holes is still a long way to go in this format.

“Gavin came back at me, and even when I went 1up at the sixth I still felt as though there was a long way to go.

“It was a really close match, we birdied six of the eight holes between us, so I knew I couldn’t make any slip ups over the next few holes.

“When I saw Gavin’s putt just miss on the eighth I felt pretty confident. I knew it was for the match, but I just managed to keep my cool.”