The UAE’s Joshua Grenville-Wood narrowly missed out on a first Challenge Tour victory after finishing in a share of second behind John Parry at the Delhi Challenge.
The 25-year-old, who was awarded a UAE passport by the Emirates Golf Federation last year, started the final day in a three-way tie for the top with Martin Couvra and Jack Senior, but moved out to the front on his own as he made the turn thanks to two birdies on the front nine.
That lead lasted four holes before a dropped shot at the 13th opened the door for the chasing pack, with Grenville-Wood joined by five others at the summit of the leaderboard before Parry edged one shot ahead of the quintet following three consecutive birdies from the 13th at Classic Golf & Country Club.
Parry moved further ahead after a fourth birdie in a row at the 16th saw him reach 20 under par, but Grenville-Wood quickly closed the gap to just one shot once again with his own birdie at the 15th, with Couvra also moving one behind thanks to his birdie on the 14th.
Parry, who was playing two groups ahead of Grenville-Wood and Couvra, made par at his final two holes to set the clubhouse target of 20 under, leaving Grenville-Wood needing a birdie at the last to force a play-off after the UAE passport holder parred 16 and 17.
He could only muster up a par, leaving him to settle for a share of second alongside Senior and Chris Paisley – matching his best result on the Challenge Tour after finishing tied second at last year’s Abu Dhabi Challenge.
Despite not claiming a historic first victory for a UAE player, Grenville-Wood banked plenty of points on the season-long Race to Mallorca Rankings, rising from 114th to 16th as he bids to secure DP World Tour membership for 2025.
The top 20 players on the Road to Mallorca after the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by the R&A in October will earn promotion to Europe’s main circuit, joining the likes of Rory McIlory, Matt Fitzpatrick and Viktor Hovland.
Grenville-Wood’s next start on the Challenge Tour is next week’s Kolkata Challenge before back-to-back events in Abu Dhabi next month for the second editions of the Abu Dhabi Challenge and UAE Challenge.
