Evans nets top 15 finish in Spain

The Staplecross-based professional came tied 13th in the Challenge de Madrid after completing the 72-hole event at El Encin Golf Hotel in an 11-under-par total of 277.

Evans made an indifferent start with a one-over-par first round 73 last Wednesday in which he mixed four birdies with five bogeys, four of which came in consecutive holes from the 10th.

The 28-year-old was in danger of missing the cut when he dropped a further shot at the 15th - his sixth in round two - but six birdies and no blemishes in his final 11 holes took him round in a five-under-par 67 and catapulted him up the leaderboard.

Evans began his third round with an eagle at the par five first, and two birdies followed at the fourth and eighth. Two birdies and two bogeys in the final 10 holes added up to a four-under-par 68.

In each of his first three rounds, Evans had scored better on the front nine than the back, but it was the other way round as he closed with a three-under-par 69 on Saturday.

An early bogey at the second was offset by a birdie at the sixth. He picked up four shots in as many holes after eagling the par five 11th, although a bogey on the par three 16th cost him a top 10 finish.

Evans, of Rye and Sedlescombe Golf Clubs, has been in good form so far this year, making the most of the opportunities which have come his way on the top flight European Tour with top 12 finishes in Morocco and India.