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Kevin Phelan went within two strokes of his first victory as a professional and, one third of a world ranking point away from winning a coveted ticket to July's Open Championship at St Andrews.
At least the rising Waterford star clinched his place in this week's Africa Open in East London with the sparkling final-round 66 on Royal Johannesburg's East Course, ensuring his best finish in 18 months as a pro in a five-way tie for second on 15-under at the Joburg Open, two behind Andy Sullivan.
The top three not already exempt for The Open qualified for St Andrews but in the event of a tie, the positions go to the highest world-ranked players. In this instance, English duo David Howell (WR 158) and Anthony Wall (WR 312), the latter was .2729 of a point ahead of Phelan (WR 511) in last Monday's rankings.
Still, the €80,600 cheque Phelan banked yesterday, when added to the €11,250 he won in December's Alfred Dunhill Championship, eased the 24-year-old inside the top-50 in the Race to Dubai.
He's played just three events since losing his European Tour card last year, a share of third at October's Hong Kong Open being his best result since turning pro after the 2013 Walker Cup. Phelan finished 129th on the 2014 Order of Merit then missed out on his card in 65th at Q-School.
So the opportunity to play again this week is a massive boost for the rock-solid Irishman, giving him a chance to build on momentum gained.
"I was just plodding along the first three days and played some nice golf and didn't hole many putts," Phelan said. "But I got the putts to drop on the front nine today and am delighted with how I played."
A closing 66 landed Englisman Sullivan (28) his second win this year in Johannesburg after his maiden success in January's South African Open. South Africans Wallie Coetsee and Jaco Van Zyl also tied second.
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