It was a Sunday to remember for Pedro Figueiredo, as he secured his European Tour card for the 2019 season, following a final round 67 at the Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final.
Entering the final tournament of the season placed 17th in the Road to Ras Al Khaimah rankings, Figueiredo needed a big week to guarantee his promotion to the European Tour.
Opening up with two consecutive one under par, 71’s, followed by a level par, 72, he had work to do in his final round of 2018.
When the pressure was on, Figueiredo produced a final round of five under par, 67, including a birdie at his final hole, to jump up to 13th place on the leaderboard and get inside the elusive top 15.
“I was out, I was in, I was out, and yeah, in the end somehow I managed to sneak in there, so it was just a rollercoaster of two hours”, said Figueiredo. “It’s always been a goal, but I don’t think I have realised yet that I have achieved it. It’s been a long journey to get here, but maybe tomorrow I’ll start settling down and realising that I’m on the European Tour.”
Figueiredo jumped up the Challenge Tour rankings after his victory at the KPMG Trophy during the summer and continued his fine form throughout the season with a third-place finish at the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge and tied eighth at the Euram Bank Open. All were big factors in helping Figueiredo to secure his European Tour card for next season.
Also competing at the Ras Al Khaimah Grand Final were Oliver Wilson and Oscar Lengdén who finished their weeks off in tied 22nd and tied 17th respectively. Overall, Oliver completed his year ranked 17th and Oscar, 23rd.