EDDIE Pepperell put his best finish on the European Tour down to a boost in confidence gained from victory at the British Par 3 Championship.

The Abingdon golfer claimed a share of fourth place in Denmark on Sunday to seal his maiden top five finish on tour.

It was a welcome result for the 23-year-old, who had slipped down to 111 in the rankings after missing the cut in three of his last four outings.

Before leaving for Aalborg, Pepperell won the British Par 3 Championship, chipping in to come out on top in a play-off at Nailcote Hall, near Coventry.

While it was a lower profile event compared to life on tour, the Frilford Heath player felt getting the winning feeling made a big difference.

He said: “Absolutely it does, I knew going to Denmark that confidence alone would take me towards the top of the leaderboard if I had the right attitude.

“No question, the win stood me in good stead.”

Prize money of just over £50,000 sent Oxfordshire’s No 1 up to 85th in the money list ahead of a key run of tournaments.

Pepperell heads to Prague today ahead of the Czech Masters, which starts on Thursday, and he is also planning to play in Italy, the Netherlands, Wales and Scotland in the coming weeks.

Strong performances would see him improve on last season’s 76th place finish in the Race to Dubai and he has one eye on qualifying for the high-profile final four events, which would mean getting inside the top 60.

While Pepperell is wary about setting a rigid target, it would mean real progress after a patchy second season on tour.

He said: “The year still feels like it’s been disappointing so far.

“I haven’t been happy with the way I’ve played, but I’ve had a couple of good finishes and now I’m looking to push forward.”

He added: “If I can keep doing what I have been in practice I will see where that takes me.

“I want to get in the final four tournaments if I can and I’ve given myself a real chance now.”

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704.

Save our number into your phone's contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.

  • Latest Sport news