Kipp Popert enjoyed a winning return to the G4D Tour as he produced a flawless final round to claim a two-shot victory at the Amgen Irish Open.
The Englishman was on the sidelines for the first half of the year following foot surgery but came into the event at The K Club on the back of winning the US Adaptive Open in July.
And while he opened with a five-over-par 77, he overturned a seven-shot deficit to first-round leader Lachlan Wood with a brilliant 68 on Monday to finish at one over in County Kildare.
It is his 14th title as both an individual and team member on the G4D Tour since its inception in 2022 and the first since he landed his fifth of a dominant campaign at the season finale in Dubai last year.
Popert made birdies at the third, sixth and tenth before finishing in style with a birdie at the par five 18th, with the 27-year-old the only player to break par in the second round.
Home star Brendan Lawlor finished second, with early pacesetter Wood of Australia in third place after a 79.
Popert next heads to the First Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School at Huddersfield Golf Club and was delighted to get the perfect preparation after listeing to some advice from his dad.
"It feels amazing," he said. "To play the way I did today when I didn't play amazing yesterday - and I had a really close friend of mine Ed Greenslade on the bag - Ben my current caddie is at Q School doing a practice round by himself.
"I've known Ed siince he was eight so I was really pleased to play like that in front of him because I wanted to show him that is more what I do.
"I didn't think I'd be the winner today after yesterday's round but my dad text me "press on" yesterday and I woke up this morning and thought 'that's a good idea' so I just did that. It's just golf, right?"
He added: "I'm just enjoying golf. At the start of the year I genuinely was on crutches for so long I wasn't sure if I'd be walking again.
"This is my passion, this is what I do. I want to make sure there are opportunities for the next generation so I just feel extremely lucky."
