SINGH BRAR BAGS FIRST PRO WIN

Hampshire’s Jack Singh Brar captured his first professional title after winning the Alps Tour’s Red Sea Little Venice Open in Egypt.

The Brockenhurst-based player, who turned professional after last September’s Walker Cup, fired rounds of 69, 65 and 67 at Sokhna Golf Club, for a 15-under-par winning total.

Starting the final round with a four-shot lead – following a second round that included a hole-in-one – Singh Brar shot six birdies to extend his advantage to five by the end, with Austria’s Bernard Neumayer taking second, and Italy’s Frederico Zuchetti a further shot back in third.

“It’s awesome to get my first professional win here in Egypt,” said 21-year-old Singh Brar, who picked up €5,800 for his efforts. “I only turned pro five months ago, so it’s good to get a win quite early on in my career.”

He added: “The main thing for me today was to get through the front nine, because that’s where I struggled in the first two days, although I was 17 under par for the back nine this week. I was sort of cruising along when Zucchetti did well on the front nine, I could not get really anything going. And then, on the way back, I got a couple of birdies, the putts started rolling in, and that seemed to seal the deal.”

Singh Brar, who is attached to Remedy Oak Golf Club in Dorset, also finished seventh in last week’s Ein Bay Open in Egypt, will be playing a mixed schedule in 2018, including more events on the Alps Tour, as well as starts on the Challenge Tour and the European Tour. He started the year with an invitation to the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, where he missed the cut after shooting rounds of 73 and 72, but he made the cut in the Australian PGA Championship in December, finishing tied 58th.