While Robert Karlsson was relieved to hang on for his first victory since 2006 by claiming the Mercedes Benz Championship at Gut Larchenhof, on Sunday, StrokeAverage.com client Richard Finch was preparing to take a week off courtesy of the Ryder Cup.

And the enforced break for all the European Tour players not heading to Valhalla as part of captain Nick Faldo’s team, will give the Yorkshireman with two wins under his belt this season already time for further reflection on where his career is going.

This time last year, the 31-year old was contemplating a trip to Tour School as he headed into the last couple of events in 2007 out of form and needing a big result to secure his card.

The former English Amateur Champion produced one of the gutsiest performances of his life to finish seventh in the final event in the Mallorce Open.

And just a few weeks later he had recorded his maiden European Tour victory down in New Zealand, turning his world upside down.

Richard Finch, who turned pro after somewhat controversially being overlooked for the 2003 Walker Cup side that featured Oliver Wilson — set to make his Ryder Cup debut in Valhalla this week — has since won again, making a real splash in the Irish Open at Adare Manor Golf Course, where he fell in the water by the 18th fairway playing his approach shot from a slippery bank.

Since that victory in May, Richard Finch has played with the added pressure of knowing a third win would almost certainly secure a dream Ryder Cup debut.

But before heading to Germany last week, Richard Finch had endured a poor run of making just three cuts in 10 events.

A sparkling first round 66 saw him top of the leaderboard on six-under after making eight birdies, and Richard Finch reflected in Cologne on his meteoric rise up the Order of Merit, and explained his recent form.

He said: “I try not to think about it, but all of a sudden there are more demands on your time, different tournaments to play in and your goals change.

“I've enjoyed it but as soon as you think golf is a great game and you've cracked it you start playing like an idiot.

“I want to finish as high as I can up the Order of Merit to qualify for Majors next year, improve my world ranking and get into the top. If you play well it all snowballs from there.”

Surprisingly he is still well outside the world top 100 – Richard Finch is currently 127th – but after finishing tied for sixth in the Mercedes, the Hull City fan, celebrating his club's shock promotion to the Premiership for the first time in their history, is firmly in the top flight of European golf.

He currently stands 18th in the OOM rankings – a top 15 finish in the money list would guarantee him a start in at least two of next year’s golfing Majors, and there are still six events to play this season.

Richard Finch was unable to maintain his fast start as Robert Karlsson swept to a long-awaited victory having played some superb golf earlier in the summer, including a run of three successive top three finishes.

The 39-year-old Swede, making his second Ryder Cup appearance in a row after his debut at the K Club in 2006, doubled his three-shot lead at the start and despite a couple of hiccups, still lead by four going down the back nine.

But a mistake at the 16th allowed Italy's Francesco Molinari to make a run at the lead with three to play, after making four birdies in a row, but putts for birdie at 16 and 17 came up agonizingly short and he was powerless to stop the overnight leader from teeing off at the last with a two-shot lead.

The tall Swede, who had three top 10 finishes in the first three golf Majors of 2008, moved up to second spot in the Order of Merit courtesy of his winner’s cheque for £258,000.

“It's very nice to win, a great relief and it would have felt a bit strange not to win this season because I've been playing so well,” he added.

“It got closer than necessary maybe but I felt there was not much more I could do. All credit to Francesco, he played fantastic the last eight or nine holes.

“I just tried to do my own thing but it's not easy when he is holing putts from 40ft, but in the end it was enough.”

It was also another great tournament for another StrokeAverage.com client - in form Ross Fisher, who finished in an excellent third place.

Golf article end.