Robert Rock clinched his maiden European Tour title with a one-shot victory at the BMW Italian Open.
The Englishman, who led from the very first round, shot a final-round 67 to end the tournament 21-under, just ahead of fellow countryman Gary Boyd and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen.
Rock slipped up early with a bogey at the par-four-third, but he soon got his challenge back on track with four successive birdies from the fifth hole to reach the turn in three-under. He picked up two more shots with back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11, and a bogey at the par-three 12th was soon erased by a seventh birdie at the 13th. The 34-year-old then parred the remaining five holes, and it was enough for him to end a nine-year wait to win a title on the tour.
Rock said afterwards: “I’m very surprised to finally win, but once I got started today I felt quite comfortable and I figured that this was as good a chance as I was ever going to have.
“I was surprised to see Thorbjorn Olesen shoot 10 under so that got me thinking that I needed to make a few birdies to win but right now it feels great.
“I thought I would eventually do it. It’s taken longer than planned but it’s incredibly hard to win on this Tour. I’ve had good results but I’ve come up short. Finally, it’s all gone my way.”
Boyd shot eight birdies and two bogeys in a six-under-par 66 but that was only enough for a share of second place with Olesen, who staged a stunning last-day charge that fell just short in Turin.
The 21-year-old raced out of the blocks with two birdies and an eagle over his first three holes, and his red-hot form continued with another three birdies before the turn. His solitary bogey came at the par-five 11th and it ultimately proved costly as four more birdies meant he finished 10-under on the day, and a shot behind winner Rock after 72 holes.
