France’s Romain Langasque finally earned his maiden European Tour victory in the ISPS Handa Wales Open at Celtic Manor after a briliant back nine. Pictures by GETTY IMAGES

ROMAIN Langasque stormed to victory at the ISPS Handa Wales Open, overturning a five-stroke deficit to win his first European Tour title.

The Frenchman started the final day at The Celtic Manor Resort in a share of sixth place.

The 2015 Amateur Champion was five shots behind 54-hole co-leaders Sebastian Söderberg and Connor Syme, from Scotland.

But the deficit was cut to just one stroke after his second birdie of the day on the sixth hole.

Langasque continued to lurk one shot back after another gain on the ninth. And Romain drew level with a fourth birdie of the day on the par five 11th hole.

Successive birdies at the 15th and 16th holes saw the 25-year-old sign for a bogey-free 65 and an eight-under par total as a nervous wait followed.

Bogeys on the 14th and 16th holes dashed Syme’s hopes of a maiden European Tour victory.

Both he and Söderberg – who beat Rory McIlroy to the 2019 Omega European Masters title at Crans in September – found the water at the par five 18th.

That mistake ultimately ended the Swede’s chances at the 11th hour.

Conor Syme (right) made a double bogey at the last to drop down the leaderboard but was rewarded with a place in the US Open at Winged Foot, in September.

Great back nine earned the win

LANGASQUE, who has been tipped by many Tour pundits to make a break-through win for more than a year, was delighted with his final round.

Romain said: “I was playing really good since the start of the week.

“I was only focusing on doing my thing – that was the only objective I had on Monday with my coach.

“I’m so happy with the way I played the back nine. I played really, really good. I had so many birdie opportunities.

“The second shot on 16 and the first shot on 17 were my two best shots of the week.

“That shows that the work we have done the past few weeks has worked, and I’m pretty happy,” added Langasque.

“It was one of the first times I didn’t feel the pressure. I was focused on every shot.

“The first shot I felt pressure was the wedge on 18, because I was looking to be shorter and have a longer shot. But I flushed my four-iron.

“The wedge wasn’t easy because I wasn’t close and the two putts were under pressure. Before that I was cool and feeling really well on the course.

“The wait was long. But when you come back from five shots and you’re in a position like that it’s good.

“It’s long but it’s a good pressure and a good moment. I’m just enjoying my time now.”

•For final scores at the ISPS Handa Wales Open click here.

Välimäki and Syme earn US Open spots

LANGASQUE’S victory elevated him to 31st in the 2020 Race to Dubai Rankings.

It also earned him a place in next month’s US Open at Winged Foot, in New York, after he moved inside the top ten on the UK Swing Order of Merit.

The top 10 golfers not already exempt on that list, including Syme and runner-up Sami Välimäki, from Finland, have now secured their berths in the second Major of the COVID-19 interrupted season.

Langasque won The Amateur Championship five years ago at Carnoustie to earn his Open debut at St Andrews that summer.

He also made the cut when playing in the 2016 Augusta Masters and turned pro after his US Open debut at Oakmont, where Dustin Johnson claimed his first Major victory.

In March 2016, Langasque had beaten Hampshire’s Scott Gregory in the final of the Spanish Amateur Championship.

Three months later Gregory succeeded him as Amateur Champion by beating Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre in the final at Royal Porthcawl.

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Rookie Rasmus Højgaard who fired an excellent 66 to share a five-way lead after the first round of AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at Bel Hombre. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FIVE players including Danish rookie Rasmus Højgaard, fired opening 66s to share the lead at the top of a congested leaderboard after the first round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

Rasmus, who played in last year’s Junior Ryder Cup with his twin brother Nicolai, was joined by French duo Benjamin Hebert and Romain Langasque, Rolex Series winner Brandon Stone and Scotland’s Grant Forrest.

The island paradise is hosting players from the European, Asian and Sunshine Tours in the tri-sanctioned event, and the leading quintet took advantage of good conditions to get to six-under par.

A further nine players are in a share for second just a shot further back, with 77 players under par and within five shots of the lead.

Højgaard, who finished 18th on the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca before finishing fifth at last month’s European Tour Qualifying School to earn his card, said: “It was great, I played well and gave myself a lot of chances.

“Conditions are very good. It’s a course where if you are playing well you can see a lot of chances. I managed to take them today.

“I had a full season on the Challenge Tour, which gave me a lot of confidence in what I am doing. I just need to believe in myself.

“It’s paying off right now and hopefully it will pay off in the long run as well.

“Rookie of the year would be very nice, but it will definitely take some good results to get that. I’ll just try to play as well as I can and see where I end up,” Rasmus Højgaard revealed when discussing his goals for 2020.

Højgaard made his first European Tour cut at last week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship at South Africa’s Leopard Creek, and the 18-year-old carried that momentum forward with a bogey-free effort to sit alongside Hebert in the early lead.

Rasmus Højgaard may be playing his first season on the European Tour but the family name has been on golfing lips since 2018 – when he and his identical twin combined with John Axelsen to win the Eisenhower Trophy for Denmark.

Romain Langasque won the Amateur Championship four years ago and is another player tipped for the very top.

After finishing 24th on the 2019 Race to Dubai Langasque is looking to get off to a good start to 2020.

Langasque, who finished third at Bel Hombre two years ago, said: “It was pretty solid all day.

“It was the kind of round I was looking for to start the tournament, so I’m pretty happy.

“I love this place, I feel great, but loving the place and playing well is not the same thing.

“I played well here two years ago and I think this is a course that fits my game really well. I’ll just stay focused on doing my own thing and it worked well today.”

Fellow Frenchman Hebert is also looking for his first win on the European Tour after picking up six titles on the Challenge Tour – three in 2011 and three more in 2014 since his first season in 2009.

The 32-year-old, who has played eight seasons on the European Tour, said: “It’s always nice to start a tournament in this way.

“I enjoy the course. It was a good round of golf and it was pretty fun out there.

“The wind was quiet this morning, a little bit different direction than usual.

“But then it turned and started to blow. The course is in great condition anyway so, if you find a good way to manage the wind it is very scoreable.”

Trio fought windier conditions at Bel Hombre

With increased winds in the afternoon, it looked like Højgaard and Hebert may not be caught. But Forrest, Langasque and Stone played beautifully to reach the summit.

Stone, who won the Scottish Open in 2018 to claim the biggest prize of his career with that Rolex Series title thanks to a final round 60 at Gullane, said: “It got a little bit toasty, a little bit breezy, trickypin location here and there but overall, I’m happy with the round.

“Tee to green, I think I was decent. I hit the irons quite nicely, some really good iron shots earlier on in the round and towards the end there.

“I think we’ve had the best end of the year with these two events,” added Stone, who is looking for a fourth European Tour win since graduating from the Challenge Tour in 2015.

“Woke up to a beautiful island’s summer morning, took a walk on the beach with the wife, and after that I had to come and do a little bit of work and come and shoot a 66.”

Scot Grant Forrest who is in his second season on Tour after graduating from the Challenge Tour in 2018, said: “I made a long putt on my first hole – probably 45, 50 feet, so that’s always a good way to start the round.

“The game is getting there. We’ve done a lot of work over the past few months and it’s been a bit of a struggle on the golf course but we’re starting to see signs now.

Forrest, who played in the 2015 Walker Cup against the USA at Royal Lytham, added: “I had a great start to the tournament last week as well.

“It’s been encouraging the last little while and things are falling into place for the coming season,” said the 26-year-old from Craigielaw Golf Club, who finished 94th on the 2019 Race to Dubai.

The quintet sit a shot ahead of South Africans Jaco Ahlers, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Keith Horne and Zander Lombard, French duo Matthieu Pavon and Antoine Rozner, Belgian Thomas Detry, American Sihwan Kim and Portugal’s Ricardo Santos.

•For live scoring from the second round of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open click here.

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South Africa’s George Coetzee is aiming to add a second AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open title at Bel Hombre, after his play-off victory in 2015. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FOUR-time European Tour winner George Coetzee is aiming to seal a second AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open title at Heritage Golf Club, after triumphing in a play-off to win the inaugural edition in 2015.

The South African, who finished 60th on the 2019 Race to Dubai, has appeared in all four previous editions of the tournament and is aiming to become the first player to win the title twice.

If Coetzee can achieve that feat it would also be a second European Tour event that he has won on two occasions, following his Tshwane Open triumphs in 2015 and 2018.

George Coetzee said: “Lots of good memories from the first year here. I remember playing the 18th hole a couple more times than I wanted to, but it was a good week.

“It was nice to win a tournament outside of South Africa, and it was just a special week for me.

“It’s very social, very casual but some very serious golf. It’s a nice blend of everything,” Coetzee said about playing in Mauritius.

“I might be burning out a little bit with the amount of golf I have played but I’m still feel like I’m playing pretty well,” said Coetzee, who lost an opportunity to win the French Open at Le Paris National in October.

After a relatively six months after his second place finish in Qatar, in March, Coetzee’s late collapse on the notoriously difficult course that staged the 2018 Ryder Cup, allowed Belgium’s Nicholas Colsearts to claim his first win since 2012.

“At the moment I’m just enjoying the golf and then over Christmas I’ll put my plans together,” added George Coetzee about forming a scheduling for 2020 having played 29 times in the past 12 months.

Coetzee’s victory in Bel Ombre four years ago was a special one, as it represented the first title he had won outside of his home country, after opening his European Tour account with victory at the 2014 Joburg Open.

Lawrie named 2020 Junior Ryder Cup captain

Scottish Major winner Paul Lawrie is looking forward to an altogether different Mauritius double – after making his debut in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, he will tee it up in the Staysure Tour’s season-ending MCB Tour Championship – Mauritius next week.

The 1999 Open Champion – who was announced as the 2020 European Junior Ryder Cup Captain today (Wednesday) – turned 50 in January.

And the two-time Ryder Cup player announced his arrival on the senior circuit in some style, winning the Scottish Senior Open in the summer.

Lawrie’s looking forward to competing with some of the newer faces on European, Asian and Sunshine Tours when the action in the tri-sanctioned tournament gets under way at Heritage Golf Club on Thursday.

But he will also be soaking up all that Mauritius has to offer.

Lawrie said: “It’s my first time in Mauritius, it’s beautiful, absolutely lovely.

“ I looked at the schedule and saw that European Tour was here this week and the Staysure Tour up the coast next week. I thought – it’s the perfect two weeks.

“For the players that are getting older and older like me, and playing seniors more often, it’s weird. You get on the range and you don’t know half the Tour when you come to hit balls.

“That’s a good thing, you need to get young talent in and keep the conveyor belt rolling, as it were.

“The scoring is just brilliant, the standard on the Tour is getting better and better. That’s only going to be a good thing for everyone.”

Langasque looking to go one better

THE field at the second event on the 2020 Race to Dubai also includes a host of promising young players including Romain Langasque – who finished in third place the last time the event was played at this venue two years ago.

Langasque, who won the 2015 Amateur Championship at Carnoustie said: “It’s always a pleasure to come back here, and especially to this course where I finished third two years ago.

“It’s a place where I feel great, so I’m really happy to be here. I’ve been a Heritage ambassador for one year now.

“It’s always good to come back here because of the resort, but also because of the course. It’s a very challenging course, especially with the wind like today.

“This is a place where it is windy most of the time, so we have to learn to play with it.

“But the good thing is that because of the wind there are so many options on this course – you can be offensive or less so,” added Langasque, who won the 2016 Spanish Amateur by beating Hampshire’s Scott Gregory in the final.

The Frenchman is joined on the Indian Ocean island by Final Stage Qualifying School winner Benjamin Poke, from Denmark.

Two other notable debutants are teeing it up in Mauritius – four-time European Tour winner Thomas Pieters, who made his Ryder Cup debut in the heavy defeat at Hazeltine, under Darren Clarke in 2016, and his compatriot and fellow ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf winner Thomas Detry.

•For first round tee times in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open click here.

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The signature 17th hole with the 13th green in the foreground at Lumine’s Hills Course, which will stage the European Tour Qualifying School Final next month.

THE Lumine golf resort which will host the final stage of next month’s European Tour Qualifying School has upgraded the Hills Course before the 156 players battling for their 2020 playing rights arrive in Tarragona.

Lumine Mediterránea Beach & Golf Community, which has two championship courses, has also refitted the Lakes Course clubhouse as part of an ongoing €2million redevelopment programme.

A major fairway drainage project on the Hills Course has been central to ensuring a high quality of fairway turf throughout the year on the Costa Daurada course.

As a result, the rough lining the fairways has also become much more defined, giving even the best golfers an additional challenge if they miss the short grass.

Adjoining areas of play have been improved and are also much better defined now thanks to the addition of nearly 20,000 plants and shrubs that line and shape the walkways.

The improvements not only improve the overall look and feel of the course, but are ready to claim any errant shot that goes their way, says the course’s general manager Calle Carlsson.

All the buggy paths have also been upgraded with new kerbs and improved routing, to better protect the fairway and rough.

On the Lakes Course, the clubhouse is now an even more focal point for guests visiting Lumine as the result of a major refit.

The design aims to offer a lighter, more open plan environment that maximises the view over the daunting par five 18th hole and the water hazard surrounding the green.

The reception area has also been modernised, with new sign in technology that will make check-in much more efficient, while the pro shop has received a complete refresh, aimed at creating a premium boutique feel with improved display areas.

Calle Carlsson said: “It has been quite an undertaking, but we are delighted with the results so far, with many more changes to come in the months ahead.

“Not only have the changes enhanced the playability of the Hills Course, the premium feel we have created in the Lakes Course clubhouse enhances our reputation as a premier golf destination.

“We look forward to welcoming the next generation of potential European Tour players in November and, beyond that, the many thousands of golfers that visit every year to play.”

The upgrades have been completed ahead of the European Tour Final Qualifying Stage, which takes place over six rounds from November 15-20.

Those teeing it up in November will not only face a sterner test across all 108 holes on both courses, they will also be able to take advantage of the improved facilities when recuperating after their round.

European Tour Qualifying Final Stage tournament director Mike Stewart said: “This is the eighth year we have visited Lumine as part of Qualifying School – and the third time it wll host Final Stage.

“Every time we come back the team has made improvements and their commitment to presenting both courses in top condition for the event is very impressive.

“We always get great feedback from the players and look forward to working with the team to deliver another fantastic event next month.”

•To book your stay at one of Spain’s premier golf and leisure destinations, and for information about the packages on offer click here.

The new reception area in the clubhouse of Lumine’s Lakes Course which will greet the 156 players who make it through to the final stage of the 2019 Euorpean Tour Qualifying School

Amateur Champions shone in Spain

AMONG those who came through European Tour Qualifying School in 2018 were two former Amateur Champions.

Hampshire’s Scott Gregory and France’s Romain Langasque earned a full Tour card along with America’s Kurt Kitayama, who went on to win twice in his first 11 appearances on the European Tour between December and March.

Ironically the two players had met in the final of the 2016 Spanish Amateur Championship at Royal Valencia Golf Club.

Langasque, who had won the Amateur Championship in 2015 at Carnoustie, went on to win a one-sided final, but it spurred on the Corhampton golfer, who was crowned Langasque’s successor just three months later at Royal Porthcawl – beating Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre.

The pair were Walker Cup team-mates a year later in Los Angeles are now and both playing on the European Tour after MacIntyre qualifed via the European Challenge Tour in 2018.

Last year’s ETQS winner in north-east Spain was Spaniard Alejandro Canizares while Florida-based Englishman Sam Horsfield was the first winner of the final stage held at Lumine, back in 2017.

Lincolnshire’s Nathan Kimsey was the surprise winner three years ago, the last time ETQS was held at PGA de Catalunya – the ninth year in row the final stage was held at the Girona venue.

Essex’s Richard McEvoy and Simon Khan were the winners in 2003 and 2009 respectively.

Three Englishmen in a row claimed the title after Khan – Northumberland’s Simon Wakefield, Somerset’s David Dixon and John Parry from Yorkshire, in 2012.

After eight venues across Europe hosted the first stage in September and October, players will be heading to Spain in the first week of November fighting for about half of the 156 places availble at Lumine.

The four venues are Alenda Golf and Las Colinas Golf & Country Club, in Alicante, Desert Springs, in Almeria, and Bonmont Golf Club in Tarragona.

All four tournaments will take place from November 7-10, with the first round of stage three commencing at Lumine, just five days after the final round at stage two

•For more information about stage two of the European Tour Qualifying School click here.

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Alex Noren has fond memories of Le Golf National after holing a monster putt to get in the play-off last year – and then hole a monster putt in the Ryder Cup singles three months later. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

ALEX Noren returns to a venue full of incredible memories as he aims to defend his Amundi Open de France title this week.

The Swede claimed a one-shot win at Paris’ Le Golf National in July last year.

And more glory was to follow three months later as he made a memorable Ryder Cup debut, which included one of the greatest moments of his career.

With team victory assured and the celebrations going on around him, Noren holed a monster putt for a birdie on the last to beat Bryson DeChambeau one-up to put the gloss on a 17½-10½ triumph for Europe.

Noren said: “It was an amazing week last year. I just made the cut and then had a great weekend.

“I didn’t think I was even going to get into a play-off with the score I had, I thought I had to make the putt on the last, that long putt.

“I just missed it, but then it was pretty tough coming in for the rest of the guys and I ended up winning. I felt very fortunate.

“The putt on 18 at the Ryder Cup was amazing, maybe the best moment of my golfing career.

“I know the whole match was over, but my game was still going and the coaches and captains had told us to keep going until the end of every match.

“It just felt great to finish my game like that and it ended up being the finish of the whole match.”

The 10-time European Tour winner is joined in the field this week by double Major champion Martin Kaymer.

The former World No. 1 has played in every edition of this event since turning professional, and counts the 2009 Open de France among his 11 European Tour titles.

“I think it’s one of the best golf courses that we play on the European Tour,” said the 2010 USPGA and 2015 US Open Champion.

“We used to play on a different date for the last 12 years or so that I have been here, so this week it will be a little different.

“My win in 2009 was a very enjoyable week in many ways. I was very in control of my game.

The German, who broke through with his first European Challenge Tour win back in 2006, said: “I had so much support during that week and I was playing really well.

“The week after I also won in Loch Lomond at the Scottish Open, so it was a really nice time for me.

“It was always one of those tournaments that you would like to win in your career, and fortunately I could win it fairly early in my career.”

Noren and Kaymer will face a strong local challenge around the famously testing Albatros Course this week, with the three in-form Frenchmen inside the top 25 of the Race to Dubai Rankings.

They are Benjamin Hebert, Victor Perez – the recent winner of the Alfred Dunhill Links – and former Amateur Champion Romain Langasque – all seeking to add gloss to impressive seasons with victory on home soil.

•To follow live scoring at Le Paris National click here

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Benjamin Hebert is the highest Frenchman in the field for the French Open at Le Paris National this week. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

BENJAMIN Hebert is currently the top ranked French player on the Race to Dubai, and he is hoping a maiden European Tour win on home soil at this week’s Amundi French Open can help him break into the top 10 – or better.

The 32-year-old has two second place finishes this season, at the Volvo China Open and the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.

Hebert said: “It’s my best season so far. I have two second places, but I think I could have been a little bit better.

“Still chasing the first win, but I’ll try to improve every part of my game and I think it could be soon.

“I’m in a good position on the Race to Dubai. Like with my game, I will try to improve this placing and maybe get into the top ten or better.

“This is a very important end of the season coming up, and it’s going to be good,” Hebert added.

“It’s always special to play on home soil, with so many home fans watching. It’s always interesting to learn how to manage this different pressure.

“We’re playing on a great golf course and I just try to enjoy it,” added Hebert, who currently sits in 17^th place on the Race to Dubai rankings as the season enters the final stretch.

He is joined at Le Golf National for continental Europe’s oldest national open by a host of his compatriots, including one man who has already tasted victory this season – Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner Victor Perez.

The European Challenge Tour graduate will be under a different kind of pressure this week after making his debut in the event last season.

But Perez, who currently lives in Dundee where his girlfriend is studying at the Scottish university, is hoping to keep relaxed and treat the week like any other tournament.

Perez said: “Being a Frenchman it’s important to be here and play in front of the home fans. A lot of French players are having a good season and really looking forward to the tournament.

“Winning a couple of weeks ago means there is a little bit of attention on me, so I think it’s important to come out and play in front of home fans and hopefully have a good week.

“You want to try to enjoy it as much as possible. It’s very easy to put extra pressure on yourself to perform.

“But also you can think about it the other way and really enjoy the fact the fans are here to cheer for you,” Perez added.

“Then it’s just about having a blast and free-wheeling it, I think that’s a better attitude than feeling the extra pressure.”

Romain Langasque – the winner of the 2016 Amateur Championship at Carnoustie – is also aiming to cap off a fine season with victory in front of home crowds at the Amundi Open de France, which is often described as an inland links, with its long grasses and tightly mown, narrow fairways.

Langasque has been edging towards his first European Tour win with three top three finishes.

The 2016 Spanish Amateur Champion, who beat Hampshire’s Scott Gregory in the final, is relishing the challenge posed by the famously testing Albatros Course, which hosted Europe’s victory over the United States in the 2018 Ryder Cup.

Langasque said: “It’s always important to play in front of the French crowd.

“I know this course very well and I think it’s one of the best on the European Tour.

“My first time playing my home open was tough, but now I’m better prepared, and I enjoy it so much, sharing these moments with my family and friends.

“With the weather as well this week I think it will be a tough test again. The 18th is a tough tee shot under pressure because of the bank on the right and the water on the left.

“The second shot is quite tough because of the pressure, you see a lot of water,” added Langasque.

“It’s one of the best finishing holes on Tour and I hope to have my chance down there on Sunday.”

Two Frenchmen have claimed the Open de France at the Ryder Cup venue – Thomas Levet in 2011, and Jean-Francois Remesy, who won back-to-back 14 years ago. Both are now playing on the Staysure Seniors Tour.

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Austrian Bernd Wiesberger claimed his second victory of the year – and the first Rolex Series title of his carrer – after beating Frenchman Benjamin Hebert in a play-off at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

BERND Wiesberger secured his first Rolex Series title after defeating France’s Benjamin Hebert in a thrilling play-off at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.

The Austrian, who was runner-up at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open just seven days ago, was not to be denied for a second consecutive week as he triumphed over Hebert with a par on the third extra hole at The Renaissance Club, at North Berwick.

The 33-year-old held a two-stroke lead after 54 holes, but Hebert set the clubhouse target on 22-under par after a stunning nine-under round of 62. Wiesberger then joined him on that total after his round of 69.

The pair parred the first two play-off holes, but Wiesberger tapped in for par from four feet to win his second title of the season after Made in Denmark in May – and moved to the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings.

A delighted Wiesberger, who picked up a cheque for €1,035,099, the biggest of his career which has seen him earn nearly €12million, said: “I knew it wasn’t going to come easy for me. I had a great, great warm-up this morning, flushing the ball. It just got a little tough out there for me.

“I just dug in there. Obviously I would have loved to seal it off with a couple of pars coming in, but sometimes it just tests you.

“A great week from Benjamin. He could have just snatched it off me on the first two holes, as well, and just very grateful for how it turned out for us this week.

“I wasn’t in this tournament eight days ago. You know, I had a great week in Ireland and sealed my spot, and what a week this is. Just take a lot of confidence out of the last two weeks into the final major this year.

“I’ve always enjoyed coming to the links, Scottish links, and I’ve had nice success here in Scotland and it’s just really, really nice to be able to stand here with the trophy at the end of the day.

“It was a long day, but somehow managed,” added Wiesberger, who suffered a long-term wrist injury last year that forced him to miss seven months of the season.

There was a consolation prize for Hebert, who earned his place at this week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

Hebert said: “I was looking for The Open spot, for sure I was chasing this spot, so I’m happy, first.

“I’m very happy as next week will be my first Major Championship as a professional. It was a goal for me actually this season to play in a Major.

“I played in The Open in 2008 but I was an amateur. It was a long time ago.”

Hebert, who earned an exemption at Royal Birkdale as the reigning European Amateur Champion, will be joined in Northern Ireland by Italian Nino Bertasio and Middlesex’s Andrew Johnston, who finished in a share of fourth place.

Beef, who has spoken about his mental health issues that have affected his game over the past year, carded the lowest round of his European Tour career and jumped up 34 places on the leaderboard.

With two holes to play, the Londoner who became the galleries’ favourite at the 2016 Open at Royal Troon, needed two birides to card just the second 59 in Euorpean Tour history, but finished with a bogey after shaving the hole from 15 feet on the 17th.

That left the former Middlesex amateur, who was a member at Wentworth before turning pro as well as his home course North Middlesex, in a share of top spot until Wiesberger and Herbert pulled clear of the chasing pack.

Frenchman Romain Langasque – who won the 2015 Amateur Champinship at Carnoustie, finished third on 20-under – one stroke ahead of Bertasio, Johnston, 2016 Open Champion Henrik Stenson, Italy’s Andrea Pavan and American Andrew Putnam.

Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello, South African George Coetzee, Welshman Jamie Donaldson, England’s Lee Slattery and American Justin Thomas finished on 18-under.

•THERE was a historic moment earlier in the day as Ireland’s Brendan Lawlor won the inaugural EDGA Scottish Open, a new 36-hole tournament for players with disability, which saw 10 players tackle the same set up at The Renaissance Club as the European Tour field.

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