Conor Purcell secures DP World Tour card with Challenge Tour win in China

Conor Purcell birdied three of the last four holes to secure his second win of the season on the Challenge tour in the Hangzhou Open in China, a victory which secures a full tour card on the main DP World Tour next season.

Having held a slender one-shot lead after 14 holes, Purcell's birdie hat-trick from the 15th to the 17th helped him to a final round of 67, which gave him an 18-under-par total and a four-shot success over Spain's Angel Ayora, England's Jack Senior and Finland's Oliver Lindell.

With 20 main tour cards available from the Challenge Tour rankings, Purcell had been in 12th position at the start of the penultimate tournament of the campaign and his triumph in an elevated status event sees him rise to fourth place in the standings entering the Challenge Tour final in Mallorca in a fortnight.

The higher he finishes in the end of season rankings, the stronger the card and so the 27 year-old Portmarnock golfer will now be able to plan out a schedule with greater certainty for the season ahead.

Purcell is now also in position to become the first Irishman since Raymond Burns in 1994 to win the overall Challenge Tour Order of Merit.

"It's nice to win one of the elevated events before the Challenge Tour Grand Final so that I can go over there and enjoy it a little more," he said after his success.

"I'm having my family over in Mallorca and now really looking forward to it," he added.

Purcell's father Joey, the long-time former head professional at Portmarnock Golf Club, earned his European Tour card in 1979 and enjoyed a best finish of tied 8th in the Spanish Open in 1980.