Open de Andalucía concludes with Frenchman Julien Quesne on top: Wrap-up
The latest episode of the Open de Andalucía, the first leg of the European Tour events in continental Europe, has successfully concluded with Julien Quesne on top of the leaderboard.
The 31-year-old Frenchman landed his first European Tour title amid a grizzled field set for the event and carded an eye-popping final round of eight-under, 64 to surge past the rest of the rampaging players.
A jubilant Quesne said, “It’s the best day of my life”.
The two-time Challenge Tour winner won his European Tour card last year, after pulling in an impressive performance on the secondary circuit.
Being part of the professional entourage since 2003, Quesne has been lurking in shadows for considerable period of time. He has now surged to an unprecedented 183rd on the Official World Golf Rankings from a previous low of 322nd.
The trailblazing golfer carded total of eight birdies on the final 18-hole stretch and did not drop a single shot throughout the day.
He cleared the nearest contender, Italian Matteo Manassero by two strokes to lift the first European Tour title of his career.
Meanwhile Manassero, who started off his bid for the title in a splendid fashion, had to bear the brunt of a sloppy second round in the event where he lost most part of his lead with a one-over, 73.
He pulled in another round of four-under, 68 on the final day, finishing for an outright second in the event.
Manassero, a two-time European Tour winner, is currently looking for a breakthrough ahead of the first major event of the year, The Masters at Augusta National in April.
He is hoping to break into top-50 on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) to be part of the field of the coveted event. He is currently ranked 61st on the OWGR.
Spaniard Eduardo de la Riva, the second round leader, also played amazingly for the four-day stretch and remained in contention for the title on his home course.
Both Manassero and de la Riva were just a shot back from forging a Playoff on the last hole but the tough penultimate holes barred them from doing so.
He carded a final round of two-under, 70 to close his bid with a terrible bogey on the 18th.
The 29-year-old de la Riva said, “I felt calm and in control but I missed two short birdies on the first two holes, and after that my putting was generally poor. I am quite happy with my performance. I played great all week and I had a good chance of winning
but my putter let me down over the weekend. Third seems to be my place at the moment - hopefully I will get over that”.
Englishman David Lynn finished for an outright fourth while South African Hennie Otto and Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin finished for a joint fifth on the leaderboard.
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