Rookie Parry wins maiden pro title
John Parry – Rory McIlroy’s team mate at the 2007 Walker Cup – has became the third 2010 rookie to win on the European Tour.
England’s John Parry – a team-mate of Rory McIlroy in the 2007 Walker Cup – today became the third rookie to win on this season’s European Tour.
A Challenge Tour graduate like Rhys Davies and John Morrison, the 23-year-old from Harrogate won the Vivendi Trophy at Golf de Joyenval in Paris by two shots from Swede Johan Edfors.
Parry, 116th on the money list entering the event with the top 115 keeping their cards at the end of the year, fired a closing 70 to take the £169,638 top prize with a 17-under-par total of 271.
He had not finished higher than ninth in any previous tournament – and in Austria last week held the halfway lead and then fell away to 20th.
Padraig Harrington came eighth after a best-of-the-day 64, timely indeed as he goes into a Ryder Cup where he is in the spotlight after being given a wild card ahead of Paul Casey and Justin Rose.
Parry said: “I felt nervous and just tried to control my emotions. I felt I was playing well, though, and my concentration was good.
“I was trying to get to 20 under and I think I could have done it if I had holed a few more putts.”
With a one-year Tour exemption now under his belt he added: “At least I know now what I am going to play in. It takes the pressure off.
“I thought I was good enough to win – it was just putting it all together.”
One in front when he resumed, Parry was caught early on by former Ryder Cup player Jarmo Sandelin, but after three birdies and a bogey on the front nine he turned two in front.
Another birdie at the 10th was to prove his last of the day, but nobody could sustain a challenge to him and, although he bogeyed the short 17th after finding sand, Edfors did the same and then went into another bunker at the last.
Joint third were Sandelin, Danes Soren Kjeldsen and Mark Haastrup, France’s Francois Delamontagne and Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen.
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