Steve Tiley’s long wait for a first victory on the European Challenge Tour came to an end at the weekend when he scored a wire-to-wire success in the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in northern France.
Playing his 11th season on the tour, the 36-year-old Herne Bay professional recorded a 72-hole total of 11-under-par 273 to finish one shot ahead of Richard Bland on the Normandy course which obviously suits his game after Tiley finished runner-up there in the same event 12 months earlier.
He said: “I came close last year and so it was nice to seal the deal this year. I was feeling nervous on the first tee. I’d slept on the lead for the last two nights and that is always hard because you wake up thinking about the different scenarios.”
Tiley, who is attached to the Royal Cinque Ports club at Deal, felt his secure short game was a key factor in his success, adding: “I think I only missed five putts inside ten feet all week, so I holed out really well which was great.”
Tiley earned 33,600 Euros for his victory, which races him up the season-long Challenge Tour Rankings from 126th to 11th.