<p>Liam Nolan with the Abu Dhabi Challenge trophy. Picture: Getty Images</p>
Liam Nolan produced a near-flawless final round performance to win his maiden professional title at the Abu Dhabi Challenge and put himself in position to earn his DP World Tour card.
The Galway man (26) took a slender two-shot lead into the final round at sun-scorched Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club.
But after racing to the turn in four-under 31 to extend his lead to five shots over Tapio Pulkkanen, he played the back nine in one-under, to shoot a five-under 65 and win by four strokes from the Finn on 21-under-par.
"Absolutely mental," a delighted Nolan said of his feelings after a win that catapults him from 43rd to 12th in the Road to Mallorca standings and puts him on course to win one of 15 DP World Tour promotions with three events remaining.
"It never really feels like it's going to happen until it does. So I feel like I put myself in position enough. I feel like it was my time, and yeah, I'm absolutely chuffed."
Nolan refused to let his guard down, even after he followed a birdie at the fourth with three more in a row from the sixth.
"You have everything from what's the worst that can happen to what's the best that can happen running through your head," confessed the Bearna native, who won a career-best cheque for €49,790.
"A four-shot lead, while it might look good on the live scoring or whatever, to me it felt like it was nothing. It was like, all I have to do is lose the ball, and one of the lads has to hole out.
"So yeah, the mind was racing a bit, but I played really nice again today. Played a little bit more conservative in places where there were a few tough pins, but I'm just blabbering now at this stage. I'm just happy to get it done."
He was four clear with two holes to play and fist-pumped after making a key par-save at the 17th before going on to birdie the par-five 18th.
"I mean that gave me the four-shot cushion going down the last, and you know I felt like if I had missed that and only had a three-shot lead, there's still a bit to do left," he said.
"But the four-shot was nice. When that went in, I felt like I could slightly relax.
The par save let Nolan, his caddie, and close friend Sean Nohilly enjoy the walk down the last hole.
"We've been friends for 12 years now, playing golf together, so this is as cool as it's gotten for us so far.
"He has done every professional tournament with me, so this is as much his win as it is mine. It's our win. We see it as a 50-50 team.
"It's so special to have a friend out there that you know so well, so yeah. Massive thanks to him, and you know he deserves it every bit as much as I do."
The win guarantees Nolan a place in the season-ending 45-man Grand Final after the next two events in China, but at 12th in the rankings, he's inside the top 15 who will earn promotion to the DP World Tour.
"Sounds great. You can't have a chance to play on the DP next year if you're not in the Grand Final. So, yeah, I mean, I'm thinking more about the win right now than the rankings. I'm just really happy to win."
He had support on the course from his first cousin and his aunt, though his immediate family and his girlfriend were on holiday in Spain.
"I think there was a bit of a watch party going on, but yeah, they're thrilled," he said of his call to family. "Obviously, they see how much work I've put in and how much work Sean's put in.
"So to see that pay off, because sometimes in this game it doesn't pay off. So to see it pay off is really special for all of us."
Nolan jets out now to China for the 70-man Hainan and Hangzhou Open, with Gary Hurley, who tied for 28th on seven under after a 69, to move up to 53rd in the rankings.
But Mark Power will turn his thoughts to the Q-School after he failed to break into the top 70 who earned spots in those enhanced money events.
A closing 70 left him 37th on five-under and still 73rd in the season-long standings.
On the PGA Tour, Séamus Power birdied two of his last three holes to shoot a five-under 66 and make the cut on the mark in the Bank of Utah Championship.
The West Waterford man looked set to cruise into the weekend when he opened with a birdie at the 10th and added four more in a row from the 12th at Black Desert Resort.
But bogeys at the 16th, 17th and second holes left him three shots outside the six-under cut mark before he rallied to make it on the mark.
After rolling in a 15-footer for birdie at the fourth, he got up and down from the fringe for another at the par-five 16th, then made a 12-footer at the par-five ninth to sneak inside the cut line before play was suspended.
Power is ranked 104th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings and battling to finish the year inside the top 100, who will have full cards next year.
At six-under, he's 11 strokes behind Austin Smotherman, who followed a 63 with a nine-under 62 to lead by one. Stroke from Kevin Roy on 17-under.
At the LPGA's LOTTE Championship in Hawaii, Stephanie Meadow was the only Irish player to make the cut.
She birdied the par-five 18th to card a one-under 71 to make it on the mark on three-under.
Lauren Walsh shot 69 but missed out by two shots on one-under alongside Leona Maguire, who shot 71.
Article Link: 'I feel like it was my time, and I'm absolutely chuffed' - Nolan wins Abu Dhabi Challenge - News - Irish Golf Desk