Heisele (pictured in a Twitter photo), who played golf for the Buffs from 2008 through ’11, shot rounds of 67-70-69-69 for a 13-under-par 275, good for second place in the Foshan Open in Foshan City, China. He finished five strokes behind champion Oliver Farr.
The 46,294 euros Heisele earned vaulted him into 13th place on the 2017 Challenge Tour’s money list, also known as The Road to Oman. (Oct. 29 Update: After a 33rd-place showing in the Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge that ended on Oct. 29, Heisele dropped into the 15th spot on the money list.)
After the upcoming final two tournaments on the Challenge Tour season, the top 15 on The Road to Oman list will earn 2017-18 European Tour cards.
“Decision to forgo @EuropeanTour #AVM2017 and play @Challenge_Tour #FoshanOpen might have just saved my card,” Heisele said on Twitter on Sunday.
Heisele has played in 20 European Tour events this season and ranks 142nd on the money list, with 210,332 euros. He’s earned another 80,612 euros on the Challenge Tour. He’s recorded two top-four finishes on the European Tour this year.
Laird (left), who has three PGA Tour victories to his credit, ended up a stroke behind champion Jhonattan Vegas, who birdied his last three holes en route to a 64 on Sunday.
Laird shared second place with Dustin Johnson and Tour rookie Jon Rahm. The former Ram went 73-69-68-67 for an 11-under-par 277 total.
The runner-up finish assured Laird of keeping his PGA Tour card for next season as he jumped from 120th place on the 2015-16 money list to 81st. The top 125 at the end of the season are fully exempt for the coming year.
Jobe Scores Big in Another Senior Major: Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe finished fifth Sunday in the Senior British Open in Scotland, marking his third top-five showing in a senior major this year.
Jobe closed with a 6-under-par 66 Sunday to post a 7-under 281 total. He ended up four strokes behind champion Paul Broadhurst and earned $64,802 in the process.
Previously this year in senior majors, Jobe has placed third in the Senior PGA and fourth in the Senior Players Championship, along with 17th in the Regions Tradition.
Jobe ranks 17th on the 2016 PGA Tour Champions money list with $544,420.
Elsewhere: Former University of Colorado golfer Sebastian Heisele placed fourth Sunday in the Le Vaudreuil (France) Golf Challenge on the European Challenge Tour. After going 63-69-73-67, he came up two strokes shy of winner Alexander Bjork of Sweden. It was Heisele’s seventh top-20 finish of the Challenge Tour season. He’s 15th on the Challenge money list with 43,142 euros.
Kofstad (pictured), who has been bothered by various injuries in recent years, last had won on the Challenge Tour at the end of 2012.
On Sunday at the D+D Real Slovakia Challenge, Kofstad made birdie from 10 feet on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff to beat Romain Langasque of France. Kofstad closed with an 8-under-par 64 to finish at 17-under 271.
The 27,200 euro payday moved Kofstad up to fourth on the 2016 Challenge Tour money list with 63,392 euros. He’s posted four top-five finishes this season. The former Pioneer, now 28, was the top money maker on the 2012 Challenge Tour.
“It’s been a long way to come here,” he said. “Looking at where I was in November, with shooting pains all down my legs, I didn’t know what was going on, so to do this is amazing.
“I’ve been going for (a berth in the Olympics) all year, and getting closer and closer to getting in, but it’s all about playing well and winning golf tournaments.
“(The victory) means so much. I didn’t know what I was going to do a couple of years back when it first started and I couldn’t get off the floor. I’ve worked really hard, stayed patient and had really good people around me, so it’s great to be here now.”
Elsewhere on world tours on Sunday, Michael Schoolcraft of Denver tied for fourth on the PGA Tour Canada’s Players Cup in Winnipeg, Manitoba. That career-best showing gives him two top-10s and three top-20s this season on the circuit.
Schoolcraft carded scores of 67-66-68-67 for a 16-under-par 268 total. Dan McCarthy ran away with the title at 25-under-par 259.
]]>On Sunday, Kofstad finished tied for second in the Swiss Challenge, marking his third top-five showing on the Challenge Tour in the first three months of the 2016 season.
The Norwegian posted rounds of 68-68-70-67 for an 11-under-par 273 total. He ended up a stroke behind champion Alexander Knappe of Germany.
With the runner-up showing, Kofstad moved up to ninth on the Challenge Tour money list with 32,645 euros.
After finishing fourth in the season opener last month, Kofstad tied for fifth Saturday in the Red Sea Egyptian Challenge in Ain Sokhna, Suez, Egypt.
The Norway native carded rounds of 66-69-69-69 for a 15-under-par 273 total, which left him three strokes behind champion Jordan Smith of England.
The performance left Kofstad fourth on the 2016 European Challenge Tour rankings with 16,247 points.