England’s Ross McGowan kept his cool to win the Italian Open by a solitary stroke on Sunday to secure his second European Tour title – 11 years after his maiden win in Madrid.
McGowan began the day tied for the lead alongside comrade Laurie Canter, three shots clear and regardless of a topsy-turvy final round, a one-under-standard 71 was sufficient to keep Canter and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts under control.
The 38-year-old Englishman didn’t begin well, playing the front nine over standard unexpectedly at the competition regardless of an eagle on the 6th.
In any case, he took the altogether lead when he holed a perfect bunker shot at the sixteenth for a birdie and completed the competition at 20-under-standard.
“I can’t believe it,” McGowan said. “I hit the ball terrible today but luckily the putter kept me in it again.
“The tee shot on 16 was a shocker, the second shot wasn’t much better and then I holed the bunker shot so I think that was the one that gave me a bit of belief. Then to roll that putt in there (on the 18th) was magical.
“I didn’t really foresee this, my form hasn’t been great,” he added. “I think I’m going to have to go now and have a nice big glass of red wine and think about what’s next.”
Germany’s Sebastian Heisele completed fourth, two shots behind, while five players were tied for fifth a further stroke behind.
Prior, Denmark’s Joachim Hansen had to pull back before the last round after his caddie Adam Drummond tested positive for COVID-19.
Hansen tested negative and didn’t show any symptoms however was pulled back as a precaution and asked to self-isolate.
About Author
Disclaimer: The views, suggestions, and opinions expressed here are the sole responsibility of the experts. No Bengaluru Bytes journalist was involved in the writing and production of this article.