Julien Quesne of France fired a closing round of 67 to win the 70th Open D'Italia Lindt at Golf Club Torino by a single shot over Ireland's David Higgins and Steve Webster of England.
The Frenchman began the final day four shots behind Australia' Marcus Fraser, but the 33-year-old completed an impressive back nine of 31 to set a clubhouse total of 12-under-par.
Quesne picked up birdies at the 10th, 11th and 15th. He then chipped in from short of the 17th and birdied the last for good measure.
Meanwhile, further back on the course, Fraser was faltering. He three-putted on the 15th then missed the green on the short 16th and that led to another bogey. In the end, Fraser closed with 74 to end the week in a tie for fourth.
It was Steve Webster and David Higgins who took a share of second place. Both closed with 68s to finish only a shot behind Quesne. It was a second European Tour victory for Quesne who has moved to 41st on the Race to Dubai.
"I am surprised to be here. The flags were very difficult all week so it was very difficult to make birdies and easy to make some bogeys," he said. "It was also really special to have my family with me - they make me stronger when they are with me and it is an amazing feeling to be able to celebrate here with them. I have had a great season this year - it has been a very consistent season with six top tens before this week and now it has become an amazing season. I can now play so many of the biggest events at the end of the year and try to finish as high as I can on The Race to Dubai."
Higgins' good finish was an important one. It has raised him to 111th on the Race to Dubai with the top-110 following the Perth Invitational securing playing rights for 2014. If he can earn enough money in the next few weeks, he could avoid a 14th trip to qualifying school.
70th Open D'Italia Lindt Golf Club Torino, Turin, Italy Sep 19-22, purse €1,800,000, par 72
1 Julien Quesne (Fra) 70 68 71 67 276 €250,000 T2 David Higgins (Irl) 67 69 73 68 277 €130,280 T2 Steve Webster (Eng) 67 69 73 68 277 €130,280 T4 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 66 72 71 278 €59,025 T4 Fredrik Andersson-Hed (Swe) 73 67 71 67 278 €59,025 T4 Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 65 71 70 72 278 €59,025 T4 Emiliano Grillo (Arg) 70 72 68 68 278 €59,025 T8 Seve Benson (Eng) 68 70 72 69 279 €29,775 T8 Robert-Jan Derksen (Ned) 71 69 71 68 279 €29,775 T8 Marcus Fraser (Aus) 66 71 68 74 279 €29,775 T8 Hennie Otto (RSA) 71 67 70 71 279 €29,775 T8 Alvaro Quiros (Esp) 71 67 73 68 279 €29,775 T8 Romain Wattel (Fra) 71 72 66 70 279 €29,775
Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage
Where next? PGA Tour - Henrik Stenson wins Tour Championship
-
5 Big Name Teams We'd Love To See Play In The PNC ChampionshipWe've already got the likes of Tiger Woods and John Daly but what other big names would make for great viewing at the PNC Championship?
-
Quiz! Name Every Men's Major Winner Whose First Name Begins With 'T'There are eighteen of them – how many can you name?
