SAN ROQUE, Spain (AP) — Julien Guerrier needed nine playoff holes in his 230th tournament to claim his first European tour win on Sunday.
Guerrier made an 8-foot par putt on the record-equaling ninth playoff hole to beat Spaniard Jorge Campillo after they finished tied at 21-under par following 72 holes.
“I’m feeling great and I can’t believe I made it. Because it’s been a really long time I’ve been waiting for it,” the Frenchman said. “We work really hard every week for that but we have to stay patient.”
Guerrier had forced the playoff by making a 16-foot par putt on the 18th for a final round of 2-under 70.
Campillo also shot 70 in a round that included three bogeys on his final seven holes, including on the 18th to open the door for Guerrier.
“On the last putt, I was thinking of my kids to give me the strength to hit it, so thanks to my family and my team," the 39-year-old Guerrier said. “It’s a long wait and I’m very happy.”
Guerrier's coach, Raphael Jacquelin, had won a nine-hole playoff at the Spanish Open in 2013. The only other European tour event decided by a nine-hole playoff was the 1989 Dutch Open won by Jose María Olazábal.
Englishman Dan Brown finished in third place at 19-under par after shooting 3-under 69 in his final round at the Real Club de Golf Sotogrande. Jordan Smith of England and Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark ended in a tie for fourth at 18-under.
Jon Rahm, playing in his third European tour event in the past four weeks, finished four shots off the lead in sixth place after a final round of 67.
Rahm, No. 14 in the world, was the top-ranked player in the tournament, which marks the final event of the year on European soil for the tour.
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The Associated Press
