SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France (AP) — Guido Migliozzi won the French Open by one shot from Rasmus Hojgaard after a stunning nine birdies saw the Italian tie the course record with a 9-under 62 in the final round on Sunday.
It was the 25-year-old Migliozzi’s third European Tour win, his first for three years, and one he’ll remember a very long time.
When Migliozzi finished on 16-under 268, he was one shot ahead of Hojgaard, who had two holes left to play. The 21-year-old Dane’s par on the 17th left him needing a birdie on the par-4 18th to force a playoff.
But Hojgaard, who had led since posting a superb 62 of his own in Thursday’s opening round, teed off into the rough. He landed his approach shot cleanly, but needed a 48-feet putt for birdie and fell 7 feet short to finish with a 3-under 68 for 15 under overall. It was a bitter end to the tournament for Hojgaard, given his round on Thursday and that he led by six strokes after the second round
Frenchman Paul Barjon (70), South African George Coetzee (71) and Belgian Thomas Pieters (70) failed to apply pressure on a wide-open last day and finished four shots behind Hojgaard in a tie for third at 11 under.
Hojgaard held a slender one-shot overnight lead from Coetzee after making a terrible start to Saturday’s third round and ending it with a 3-over 74. The damage was done in that round with a quintuple-bogey on the second hole.
But he cast those bad memories aside in style as he began his final round, sinking a birdie on hole No. 2 and an eagle — his first of the tournament — on the next. But he bogeyed Nos. 8 and 9 as Coetzee — a five-time European tour winner — moved level at 13 under.
Then it was Migliozzi’s turn to shine as he shot up the leaderboard with five consecutive birdies on Nos. 6-10 to move within one shot of the co-leaders at halfway, along with Barjon and Pieters.
Coetzee fell back after a triple bogey on the 15th, and Migliozzi’s incessant pressure finally got to Hojgaard.
The tournament was not played over the last two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
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