He had the outright lead with two holes to play, but JC Ritchie made two bogeys in a row on 17 and 18 in the final round of the Challenge Tour’s British Challenge to finish second at St Mellion Estate in Cornwall.

While that will frustrate him, he will take some consolation from the fact that the performance returns him to the top of the Challenge Tour rankings, with just one more tournament left on the Road to Mallorca ahead of the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final. That means he will almost certainly finish well inside the top 20 and earn his DP World Tour playing privileges for the 2023 season.

Ritchie hadn’t put a foot wrong up until the final two holes in the final round, having made five birdies to hit the front as overnight leader Matthew Baldwin of England was faltering. In the end, he signed for a three-under-par 69 while Baldwin slipped to a four-over 76 to slip to third.

While Baldwin was in trouble, and Ritchie took his foot off the pedal, Scot Euan Walker came through to win with a birdie on the last taking him past Ritchie to eight-under and a one-stroke victory.