South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen birdied the last hole at Hills Golf & Sports Club in Sweden to win his first European Tour title at the Scandinavian Invitation.
Three times a runner-up in his career, and twice already this season, van Rooyen entered the final day in Gothenburg with a one-shot lead, but was caught by Matt Fitzpatrick and Henrik Stenson in the early stages of the front nine, with the latter sending the home fans wild with an ace at the sixth.
But the South African regained the led by two at the turn, with birdies at 5, 8 and 9, and stretched that lead to three on the back nine with further gains at 10, 13 and 18, holing out from 15 feet at the last to secure a long-awaited win on Europe’s top tier.
Fitzpatrick, who won this event in 2016 , fired six birdies over the final ten holes, including gains at 17 and 18, to give himself a chance of repeating the feat, but dropped shots at 14 and 16, and van Rooyen’s gutsy finish, saw him finish a gallant second.
Stenson finished tied third on 14 under with South African Dean Burmester, with five players, including Welshman Jamie Donaldson, sharing fifth.