Zanotti Gets First European Tour Title


Fabrizio Zanotti survived a four-way playoff hole to win the BMW International Open at Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof near Cologne and earn his first victory on the European Tour title. The 31-year-old also became the first Paraguayan to win on the European Tour.

After closing with a 7-under 65 to end up atop the leaderboard at 19-under 269 with Frenchman Gregory Havret (66), Spain's Rafa Cabrera-Bello (67) and Henrik Stenson (67), Zanotti beat Stenson on the fifth playoff hole - the par-4 18th - when the Swede's tee shot found a water hazard.

Havret dropped out of the playoff on the second hole, and Cabrera-Bello on the fourth before Zanotti edged Stenson on the par-4 17th hole.

In regulation, Zanotti, who entered the tournament ranked 305th in the world, rallied with seven birdies to rise to the top. "I was patient. I tried to play shot by shot in the play off. I'm just very happy," he told the European Tour's website.

"I knew today that if I made a good run I'd have a good chance. Today was my day. I've been working a lot and trying to build my confidence to get to this moment and finally I'm here."

Ending up tied for fifth at 270 were Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee (65), Welshman Jamie Donaldson (67) and England's Simon Dyson (66).

Third-round leader Pablo Larrazabal of Spain began Sunday with a three-stroke edge, but the 31-year-old from Barcelona finished with a 71 to drop into a share of eighth at 271 with England's Danny Willett (68), Argentine Emiliano Grillo (69) and Denmark's Thomas Bjorn (69).

Once Zanotti sewed up the victory, he was showered with champagne from fellow players. The win was his first in 181 starts on the European Tour.

The shot of the day was by James Heath, who aced the 194-yard 16th hole. The hole-in-one earned the 21-year-old Englishman a BMW i8, a high-performance, plug-in hybrid sports car valued at $136,000. "(The car) more than triples the highest check I've ever made," Heath said of his automotive windfall. "It looks fantastic. It's certainly an upgrade from my previous vehicle."

After opening with rounds of 70 and 67, two-time major winner John Daly shot 76 and 71 over the weekend to drop into a tie for 66th at 284.

For all the scores, visit http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2014/tournamentid=2014050/leaderboard/index.html.