Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts beat former US Open champion Graeme McDowell on the final green to win the Volvo World Match Play Championship on Sunday.
Colsaerts, who had needed two extra holes to beat Paul Lawrie in the morning semi-finals, was pushed all the way by McDowell.
The Northern Irishman, who reached the final by beating Rafael Cabrera Bello, leveled the final three times on the front nine, but Colsaerts prevailed to take the trophy.
“It means everything to win this. I felt that I had a pretty good shot at it last year in the same format and I was a little disappointed not to get to the final,” the 29-year-old said.
Colsaerts had begun his semi-final with Lawrie by losing the first four holes, but he then launched a fightback and after an hourlong thunderstorm delay, he won at the 20th.
McDowell started the final in fine form, holing from 18 feet on the first hole and nine feet at the shorter second, but he fell behind at the fourth, sixth and eighth, only for Colsaerts to lose the next each time.
At the start of the back nine they were level, but the Northern Irishman bogeyed the 11th to go one down for a fourth time.
Another bogey at the 13th put him two down, but at the 14th he holed an eight-foot birdie putt to cut the gap to one again.
Both men dropped shots at the 15th. McDowell dropped another on the 16th, before Colsaerts three-putted the 17th, but there were no final-hole nerves for the Belgian.
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