England’s Lee Slattery won his first European Tour title at the 183rd attempt yesterday when he survived a mistake-plagued start and a disastrous seven at the final hole to take the Madrid Masters by a shot.
The 33-year-old, who finished with a 71 for a 15-under tournament total, had been two clear at the start of the final round, but bogeyed two of his first five holes to allow Argentine veteran Cesar Monasterio and Italian Lorenzo Gagli to close in.
Slattery then composed himself to hit four birdies in five holes from the 11th as he found himself three clear with three to play.
Photo: EPA
However, on the final hole, he hit his second shot into a bunker and then pushed his approach into the water to the right of the green.
A chip left him with two putts from 10 feet and he holed a two footer to secure a one-shot win over Gagli.
“I’ve never shaken so much in my life. I’ve been out here for seven years and now I believe I can win. That’s been the biggest problem over the last few years,” Slattery said.
The victory was all the sweeter for a player who lost his European Tour card in 2007 and had to return to The Challenge Tour last year after again slipping out of the top 115 in 2009.
World No. 1 and defending champion Luke Donald finished with a level-par 72 to be tied for 11th.
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