Browne targets tour card

Stephen Browne's superb victory in the Norwegian Open last weekend allowed him to take a significant leap up the Order of Merit on the Challenge Tour to 25th place with earnings of €29,844. His target now as he redefines his goals for the final eight remaining tournaments is to earn a top-15 place in the overall standings and with it a prized card for the European Tour next year.

He is only a little under 6,000 behind Sweden's Mikael Lundberg having claimed the winner's cheque for 16,800 in Norway.

The tournament was reduced to three rounds because of adverse weather conditions on the Thursday and Friday but won't in any way diminish Browne's achievements.

The Dubliner has demonstrated on several occasions this season that he is capable of shooting very low rounds but not quite sustaining it over an entire tournament.

He rectified that in Norway and now seeks to build on it even if it means extending himself physically more than he'd like.

"Four (tournaments) on the trot used to be my absolute limit but after winning I've decided to pretty much play in the eight remaining events. At this stage I'm a little bit knackered, mentally drained as the adrenaline rush of winning has well and truly gone.

"It didn't help to miss the flight home on Sunday night. The prize giving went on a little longer than anticipated and so we (he travelled with his lucky mascot, wife Elaine) only managed to get back as far as Stansted airport, before catching the red eye yesterday morning.

"I'm absolutely delighted with the victory especially coming from one behind on the Sunday. It gives me the impetus to go forward and try and get a card.

"Everything that you do on the Challenge Tour is geared towards winning a European Tour Card and I have given myself a chance to do that."

Thanks to the financial fillip of winning and the help of his sponsors Carroll Estates and Cuisine de France, Browne will now be able to compete in all the tournaments including the lucrative final event in France; his victory in Norway guaranteeing him a place in a select field of 45 players.