By Tony Webeck

Queenslander Maverick Antcliff has taken a significant step towards securing his future on the European Tour after recording his best result at the Canary Islands Championship in Spain.

Somewhat slow out of the blocks with an opening round of 1-under 70, Antcliff played the final 54 holes in 20 under par to finish outright second, six shots behind in-form South African Garrick Higgo, bettering his tie for third at last year’s Irish Open.

Currently earning starts via his 2019 China Golf Tour Order of Merit triumph and without status for next year, Antcliff’s runner-up result and cheque for €151,810 enabled the 28-year-old to rocket to 28th on the Race to Dubai standings.

His improved position will not only provide greater schedule certainty for this season, but has him well placed to finish inside the top 110 on the money list at the end of the year and earn a full European Tour card for 2022.

A brilliant 8-under 64 in the third round again put Hannah Green in contention for a win she knows is not far off, but ultimately she had to settle for a tie for seventh in Thailand on the LPGA Tour.

Runner-up a week earlier in Singapore to move to a career-high world ranking of No.13, Green closed the event with six birdies in a round of 4-under 68 to finish three behind Ariya Jutanugarn, who roared home with a stunning 63 for an emotional win on home soil.

After a busy schedule, Green intends to spend the next two weeks at her US base in Orlando but declared that a return home to Western Australia and Olympic campaign is very much part of her planning.

“Going to have to skip some events in order to go back (to Australia), but with the Olympics this year I want to prioritise that,” Green said.

“So I'll be away for five weeks and come back for the end of the year and pretty much play everything.”

The only other Aussie to log a top-10 finish this week was David McKenzie who recorded his third top-10 finish in a Champions Tour Major at the Regions Tradition in Alabama.

Twice a top-10 finisher at the Senior Open Championship, McKenzie began the final round just outside the top five, but despite going bogey-free couldn’t get the birdie putts to drop, closing with a 1-under 71 after a brilliant 66 a day earlier.

RESULTS

European Tour Canary Islands Championship Golf Costa Adeje, Tenerife, Spain 2 Maverick Antcliff 70-64-64-65—263 €151,810 T51 Scott Hend 67-66-70-72—275 €6,100 MC Jake McLeod 74-69—143 MC Austin Bautista 70-77—147

PGA TOUR Wells Fargo Championship Quail Hollow Club, Charlotte, North Carolina T26 Cameron Davis 70-71-69-74—284 $US53,276 T37 Matt Jones 69-71-73-72—285 $36,045 MC Jason Day 72-73—145 MC Cameron Percy 72-76—148 MC Lucas Herbert 76-72—148

LPGA Tour Honda LPGA Thailand Siam Country Club (Pattaya Old Cse), Chonburi, Thailand T7 Hannah Green 66-71-64-68—269 $US42,983 T31 Katherine Kirk 73-64-68-73—278 $11,759 T54 Minjee Lee 71-70-73-70—284 $4,866 T63 Su Oh 72-68-74-73—287 $3,731

Japan Golf Tour Japan Players Championship Nishi Nasuno Country Club, Tochigi T50 Dylan Perry 72-69-71-72—284 ¥126,500 T58 Brad Kennedy 73-68-70-74—285 ¥113,500 T65 Matthew Griffin 69-73-72-72—286 ¥109,500 MC Anthony Quayle 75-68—143 MC David Bransdon . 73-71—144 MC Todd Sinnott 71-74—145 MC Scott Strange 70-76—146 MC Andrew Evans 75-73—148 MC Adam Bland 76-77—153

Korean PGA Tour The 40th GS Caltex Maekyung Open Namseoul Country Club, Seongnam, South Korea T21 Wonjoon Lee 73-72-71-74—290 K8,950,000 T61 Junseok Lee 76-70-75-80—301 K5,100,000 MC Kevin Chun 75-77—152

Korn Ferry Tour Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation The Grove, College Grove, Tennessee MC Brett Coletta 72-73—145 MC Ryan Ruffels 70-77—147 MC Jamie Arnold 74-74—148 MC Brett Drewitt 76-72—148 MC Curtis Luck 74-75—149

Challenge Tour Dimension Data Pro-Am Fancourt Golf Estate, George, South Africa MC Deyen Lawson 74-71—145

Champions Tour Regions Tradition Greystone Golf & Country Club, Birmingham, Alabama T6 David McKenzie 72-70-66-71—279 $US95,000 14 Rod Pampling 70-72-70-72—284 $47,500 T19 Stephen Leaney 76-67-72-72—287 $30,208 T29 John Senden 70-71-73-75—289 $18,500