Herbert wins Al Badia in emphatic style

Joy Chakravarty 07:37 09/11/2014
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  • Nos1 & 2: Benjamin Herbert (l) won the Al Badia event but Andrew Johnston graduated at the top.

    Frenchman Benjamin Hebert won the Dubai Festival City Chal­lenge Tour Grand Final in the most emphatic manner by five shots and became the only player in the history of the Challenge Tour to win three tournaments in a season twice.

    It turned out to be a 1-2 finish for the French at Al Badia, with compa­triot Jerome Lando Casanova fin­ishing solo second behind Hebert, who closed with a three-under par 69 for a 12-under par 276 total.

    However, Hebert’s win wasn’t enough to push rankings leader Andrew Johnston off the perch, and the Englishman ended up with the honour of being the 2014 Challenge Tour No1. Johnston shot an even-par final round of 72, and with Byeong-hun An and Moritz Lampert both not winning the tournament, he was assured of staying at the top.

    Hebert’s finish took him to No2 in the final rankings, and secures him playing privilege on the Euro­pean Tour for a second time in his career. And this time, the French­man wants to make the most of it.

    The 27 year old, who made five birdies and two bogeys on the final day, said: “It is a perfect end to the season. I played very well the last three months. I always practice hard and keep myself positive in the bad times, but now everything is OK and we will have a lot of fun over the next week before I start practicing to improve my game for the European Tour.

    “My game is much better than the last time I graduated, but some­times I still feel so-so on the course, and I have a few bad stretches which I want to fix. If I can sort that out then I feel I can perform well next season.”

    Hebert also has an eye on the 2018 Ryder Cup, hoping to make the European team when the tour­nament is played for the first time in France.

    He said: “My first goal will be to keep my card next year. I have won six times on the Challenge Tour, but now I want to win on the European Tour. Winning three times in two different seasons has never been done before, which is great, but I would exchange all of those for one win on the European Tour.

    “I’m going to keep it the same for next year, stay focused and play my game, and we’ll see what happens.

    “For sure the 2018 Ryder Cup is something that I have thought about. It would be the biggest golf tournament ever in France and it would be amazing if I could be a part of it. It is something that I am going to aim for in these next 2-3 years.”

    Starting the day two ahead of Oliver Farr, Hebert said he had a number in mind for yesterday, even though he tried to enjoy the round.

    “I had thought a three-under or a four-under round would do the job. I am glad I shot 69,” he added.

    Hebert zoomed ahead of others with three birdies in his first six holes, and once he made two more on the 14th and 15th, it would have been a miracle if someone got past him after that.

    Welshman Farr ended the day in disappointing fashion with a bogey on the final hole, and a round of one-over 73 was good only for a solo third place at six-under par 282.

    In fourth was the ever-consistent An (68) who has long been assured of a place on The Race to Dubai in 2015, while Hugues Joannes (70) and Alessandro Tadini (71) rounded out the top five. 

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