The Irish Challenge takes place at the historic K Club this week. Here’s our three men to keep an eye on.
Form horse: Benjamin Hébert
Benjamin Hébert has been in terrific form on the Road to Mallorca with four top tens this season, including a runner-up finish at the recent Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge. The Frenchman has catapulted to 13th on the Rankings and will now be targeting a strong second half to the campaign in order to secure a return to the DP World Tour.
The six-time Challenge Tour winner is the only player to have won three events in multiple seasons, achieving this feat in both 2011 and 2014, and he will have set his sights on Ian Pyman’s record of eight wins. The 37-year-old hasn’t won since the Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final in 2014, however he will be hoping to turn his consistency into a seventh title at The K Club this week.
Local boy: Conor Purcell
Conor Purcell arrives on home soil in a buoyant mood following a maiden Challenge Tour triumph last week at the Black Desert NI Open presented by Tom McKibbin. The Irishman has climbed to fourth position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings as he looks to secure promotion to the DP World Tour, having narrowly missed out last season. Purcell, who resides close to The K Clun, finished in a tie for fifth here in 2022 and he is relishing the prospect of teeing it up on home soil once again as he looks to secure back-to-back wins on the island of Ireland.
The outsider: Lucas Bjerregaard
Lucas Bjerregaard returned to the Challenge Tour last season hoping to rejuvenate his career after losing his DP World Tour playing privileges. The two-time DP World Tour winner struggled for consistency in 2023, however he has shown signs of an upturn in form in recent weeks with two top ten finishes in his last four Challenge Tour starts. The Dane carded rounds of 68-68-70-67 to finish in a tie for seventh at last week’s Black Desert NI Open presented by Tom McKibbin and he will be looking to build on that result this week at The K Club. The 32-year-old, who defeated Tiger Woods at the 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, will need a strong second half to the season if he is to climb into the top 20 on the Rankings and secure a return to Golf’s Global Tour.
