The 30-year-old Englishman, No. 194 in the world rankings, arrived at Galgorm Castle Golf Club off the momentum of back-to-back top 10s on the European Challenge Tour, but Gavins had never posted a top 10 in 53 previous European Tour starts (17 cuts made overall). “I was a little nervous before, but I just tried to shoot as low as I could today,” said Gavins, who initially considered not playing last week. “At seven behind I didn’t really think I was within a chance of winning, so there was maybe a bit less pressure there. I’ve been playing well but I was going to have the week off because I knew there’s a lot of Challenge Tour events coming up, so I thought a week off here maybe and then play the rest of the Challenge Tour. I just can’t believe it, it’ll take a while to sink in, an amazing day.” Gavins, who is in the field at this week’s Hero Open at St. Andrews, is 3-for-3 in cuts made on the ET this season and 5-for-10 on the Challenge Tour.
