SCOTT HENRY CHALKS UP FIRST TOP-10 FINISH ON CHALLENGE TOUR

CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT .

from Neil Ahern

nahern@europeantour.com

Scott Henry claimed the first top ten finish of his Challenge Tour career at the Telenet Trophy in Belgium thanks to a one under par final round of 70, which left him in tied 10^th as Italian Marco Crespi sealed his maiden victory.

Henry reached the turn in level par thanks to birdies at the third and fifth holes and bogeys at the fourth and ninth.

Four more birdies on the back nine, at the 12^th, 13^th, 16^th and 18^th were offset by bogeys at the 11^th, 14^th and 17^th and meant the 25 year old signed for a one under par 70 to finish on six under for the tournament and take home €3,160.

“I played a lot of good stuff,” said Henry. “I made too many mistakes though, even if I did have six birdies. I missed a three foot eagle putt at the last. I know I would have taken birdie on the tee but when you’re playing great shots and not making the most of it it’s frustrating.

“I feel as though I'm playing better than I'm scoring but I guess time will tell. I was feeling really confident the last few weeks and then I missed the cut by miles in Brittany. But to turn it around and come here and play better is a big positive. I just tried to free it up a bit this week and it’s helping me feel more relaxed and hit better shots.

“I'm glad to be on a run now, it’s been a bit stop start so far. It’ll be good to get going and get a chance to get rid of the silly mistakes because sometimes it’s hard to take. I know my game’s good though so I just want to score better now.”

A three under par round of 68 meant Steven O’Hara climbed to a tied 18^th place finish while Chris Doak signed for a three over par round of 74 to finish tied 20^th.

Crespi, meanwhile, claimed his first Challenge Tour victory as he cruised to victory with a four under par round of 67 thanks to an incredible run of four successive birdies on the back nine.

The Italian was the overnight leader after the second and third rounds and, while he admitted to struggling with nerves on the penultimate day, he overcame them with aplomb when it really mattered to finish three shots clear of Carlos Aguilar on 14 under.

FINAL TOTALS

270 M Crespi  (Ita) 68 65 70 67,

273 C Aguilar  (Esp) 67 71 68 67,

274 J Lima  (Por) 69 69 69 67,

275 A Kaleka  (Fra) 69 66 69 71, B Åkesson (Swe) 69 71 68 67,

276 E Pepperell (Eng) 71 71 65 69, P Oriol (Esp) 67 70 70 69, O Whiteley (Eng) 69 66 70 71

277 A Tadini (Ita) 71 72 69 65

278 A Perrino  (Ita) 69 68 69 72, S Wakefield (Eng) 68 69 72 69, J Maurer  (Aut) 71 67 68 72, S Henry  (Sco) 69 68 71 70

279 M Korhonen (Fin) 71 69 69 70, A Sullivan (Eng) 64 76 68 71, G Houston (Wal) 70 72 68 69, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 71 71 70 67

280 S O'Hara  (Sco) 72 70 70 68, S Tiley (Eng) 73 69 70 68

281 E De La Riva  (Esp) 75 67 75 64, H Joannes  (Bel) 69 71 70 71, A Otaegui  (Esp) 73 66 70 72, H Bacher (Aut) 73 65 70 73, B An (Kor) 67 74 73 67, C Doak (Sco) 68 70 69 74, M Ford (Eng) 72 68 73 68, S Strange (Aus) 72 70 68 71,

282 J Garcia  (Esp) 70 68 71 73, M Kieffer (Ger) 70 70 71 71, R Karlberg  (Swe) 69 72 70 71, C Paisley  (Eng) 69 74 70 69, T Baek (Kor) 67 71 71 73, M Delpodio  (Ita) 68 74 69 71,

283 F De Vries  (Ned) 72 71 72 68, C Macaulay  (Sco) 69 70 71 73, B Barham (Eng) 66 73 72 72, N Lemke (Swe) 70 69 72 72, A Hortal  (Esp) 72 65 74 72, C Gane (Eng) 70 71 76 66, N Ravano (Ita) 73 70 66 74,

284 T Ferreira  (RSA) 75 68 75 66, A Bernadet  (Fra) 69 72 72 71, F Fritsch  (Ger) 66 76 72 70, E Kofstad (Nor) 71 69 72 72, V Riu  (Fra) 67 75 71 71,

285 J Guerrier  (Fra) 68 73 75 69, N Dougherty  (Eng) 72 71 73 69, S Walker (Eng) 69 71 74 71, B Pastore (Ita) 69 71 76 69, M Lafeber (Ned) 70 69 74 72,

286 B Ritthammer (Ger) 70 73 75 68, J Doherty  (Sco) 68 72 69 77, J Parry (Eng) 66 69 73 78, C Ford (Eng) 68 70 74 74, K Eriksson (Swe) 69 70 72 75, J Wahlqvist (Swe) 67 72 73 74, A Hartø  (Den) 69 72 72 73, C Moriarty (Irl) 72 71 72 71,

288 A Velasco (Esp) 66 73 72 77, P Archer (Eng) 71 71 70 76, S Kim (Kor) 71 68 71 78, S Davis (Eng) 69 74 73 72,

289 P Dwyer (Eng) 71 71 75 72,

290 A Hansen  (Den) 70 72 77 71, D Lokke (Den) 75 65 72 78,

292 S Pinckney (USA) 71 72 76 73,

293 A Ahokas (Fin) 72 70 77 74,

294 Å Nilsson (Swe) 67 75 79 73, L Richard (Bel) 76 67 72 79,