THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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France's 451-ranked Wattel wins first Tour title, as Kiradech falters

France's 451-ranked Wattel wins first Tour title, as Kiradech falters

SPIJK, Netherlands - Frenchman Romain Wattel grabbed his maiden European Tour title with a one-shot victory at the Dutch Open on Sunday, as Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat faltered late on.

World number 451 Wattel, who had finished in the top ten 25 times without a victory in his previous 186 events, carded a solid 69 to win on 15 under par for the tournament, as Kiradech paid the price for two double bogeys.

"I came to this tournament, I was playing poorly to be honest," Wattel told europeantour.com, having beaten his previous best finish of the season (24th) in style.

"I never thought about the score, I just tried to play my best. I was just trying to be as high as I could on the leaderboard but it was very tight. I just tried to play my own game."

Kiradech went into the day with a one-shot lead over 26-year-old Wattel with Joel Stalter one further behind, but quickly slipped below both of his French playing partners.

Stalter played the front nine in four-under, while Wattel had three birdies in the first seven holes.

But Kiradech found himself with a one-shot advantage with four holes remaining, only to post a costly double bogey on the par-five 14th.

Wattel led by one going to the 18th, but Kiradech made a mess of the final hole en route to a second double bogey, leaving Wattel to tap in for par to claim the title.

Young Canadian Austin Connelly, who impressed at the British Open, birdied the last for a five-under 66 and second place, while former world number one Lee Westwood finished in a six-way tie for third.

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