DUBLIN’S GAVIN MOYNIHAN sealed the best finish of his professional career as he scored a final-round 71 to head home tied for fifth from the Open de France in Versailles.

The 25-year-old pocketed the second-biggest cheque of his pro venture, too, earning €57,280 at Le National, but most importantly gave himself an outside chance to retain his European Tour card at next week’s Portugal Masters.

Moynihan started the week well down the Race to Dubai rankings but could yet salvage his Tour inclusion if he can climb into the top 118-ranked golfers projected to keep their cards. His T5th-placed finish in France has moved him up to 140th in those same rankings.

Sometimes they go straight 👍🎯 pic.twitter.com/sRDgwrNIS8

— Gavin Moynihan (@GavinMoynihan) October 20, 2019

He had posted three under-par rounds before Sunday but the final round threatened to head on the opposite trajectory when Moynihan bogeyed the fourth and the seventh.

Birdies at 8, 9 and 14 got things moving, however, before a somewhat anticlimactic finish which saw birdie putts elude the hole on 16 and 17, and a bogey at the last.

Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts ended a seven-year winless run on the European Tour to seal a dramatic one-shot victory.