Spain’s Diego Borrego captured his second title on The European Tour International Schedule when he won the Madeira Island Open after finishing a stroke ahead of compatriot Ivo Giner and Holland’s Maarten Lafeber.
On a testing final day with strong winds swirling around the spectacular Santo da Serra course, Borrego was one of only two players to break 70 as he closed with a three under par 69 for a winning seven under par total of 281.
Giner, playing in his first tournament of the year, had the chance to force a play-off but his four foot par putt on the final hole narrowly missed and Borrego was crowned champion.
The 30 year old from Marbella won 91,660 euro (£56,800) to move to 37th in the Volvo Order of Merit and earned a two year exemption to The European Tour.
Borrego started the final round three shots off the lead, held by Giner and Lafeber, and fell further behind with a three putt on the first. But as the strong winds made conditions increasingly difficult Borrego was a model of consistency as he stuck to his game plan of hitting fairways and greens.
Gradually he reeled in the leaders by picking up birdies on the next three par fives and at the 15th hole he made a decisive move by hitting a five iron to 18 feet and converting the putt to move to the top of the leaderboard.
“I stuck to the plan of hitting fairways and greens,” said Borrego. “When I saw the leaderboard on the 15th I said to my caddie that now is the chance to win the tournament. That hole was the key because I birdied it and knew I could win from there.”
Borrego’s last victory came in 1996 when he won the Turespaña Masters Open Comunitat Valenciana Paradores de Turismo in a play-off at El Saler. Six years on he is back in the winners’ enclosure by becoming the third Spaniard to win at Santo de Serra in the ten year history of the event.
Giner, who lost his European Tour card at the end of the 2000 season, has been working hard on his game over the winter and the practise paid off. After sharing the lead after the third round with Lafeber, Giner slipped back with a double bogey on the first hole. But he hit back with three birdies in the space of four holes from the eighth.
Giner bogeyed the next two but returned to the top of the leaderboard with a birdie on the 15th hole, hitting a four iron to six feet. That left him alongside Borrego playing the last but after the perfect drive down the middle of the 18th fairway, he pulled up on his eight iron approach shot and came up short. A chip to four feet gave him the chance to force a play-off but the putt slipped by the hole for a final round of 73. Nevertheless it represented his best performance on The European Tour International Schedule.
“It is a shame when you are co-leading the tournament playing the final hole and you hit a driver in the middle of the fairway but you cannot make a par,” said Giner. “It really hurts.”
Lafeber was also disappointed after three putting three times in the space of four holes around the turn and missing a series of short birdie putts in his round of 73. Lafeber, who has re-modelled his swing over the winter, came up short of his maiden victory but joint second represented his highest finish on The European Tour.
“I’m very, very disappointed,” said Lafeber. “I gave it away. I gave myself good chances but you cannot win a tournament with three three putts in four holes.”
A further shot back on five under par was England’s Roger Winchester after shooting a final round of 67, the best round of the day.
In a sub plots Steve Webster held off the challenge of Andrew Oldcorn to qualify for the Great Britain and Ireland team which takes on Continental Europe in next month’s Seve Trophy. Oldcorn needed to finish in the top five but his hopes of securing the final spot disappeared with a final round of 76.
