Italian Ryder Cup player Francesco Molinari won the Spanish Open on Sunday, turning a four-stroke deficit into a three-shot win in stunning fashion.
Overnight leader Simon Dyson of England slumped to a 76 despite opening the final round with two birdies, while Molinari had a tournament-best round of 65.
Seven birdies in the first 14 and then four closing pars were enough to see the 29-year-old home.
Joint-second were Dane Soren Kjeldsen and Spaniards Pablo Larrazabal and Alejandro Canizares, while Dyson fell all the way to joint-12th.
“I knew I was playing well. I just needed some putts to drop,” said Molinari, who moves back into the world’s top 30.
He is still not in a qualifying position for this year’s Ryder Cup, but added: “I just have to play the same golf a few more weeks and hopefully I will be there.”
Molinari birdied three of the first five, then took the outright lead by two-putting the 545 yard ninth to complete an outward 32.
He picked up another shot from 10 feet at the 10th, almost holed for eagle from over 50 feet on the 13th and converted a 15 foot chance on the next hole.
“The first leaderboard I saw where I was leading was on 12, but they had a few more birdie chances than me and so I knew I needed a couple more,” Molinari said.
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