Wattel wins KLM Open title

Frenchman Romain Wattel won his first European Tour title and €300,000 after firing a closing 69 for a 15-under-par 269 total at the KLM Open in Spijk on Sunday.
Wattel, who was in control for much of the final round, survived a scare at the end when he missed the green with his approach to the last but got down with a par for his 69.
He finished one shot ahead of Canadian Austin Connelly when Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat found the water with his second to the 18th to finish at 12 under.
In third, with a 13 under total, were; George Coetzee (67), Sebastian Heisele (69), Eddie Pepperell (65), Joël Stalter (70), Justin Walters (67) and Lee Westwood (69).
Wattel’s round, which included four birdies, was thrilled after his victory.
“I came to this tournament, I was playing poorly, to be honest,” Wattel said afterwards. “Last week I struggled with my game.
“I am happy with the way I played all week. It’s been a very nice weekend.
“I’ve been putting really bad the last two years – I think I’m a really good putter but the last two years were tough for me.
“I never thought about the score, I just tried to play my best. I was just trying to be as high as I could on the leaderboard but it was very tight. I just tried to play my own game.”
Thailand’s Aphibarnrat held a one-shot lead overnight but was passed by Wattel with three birdies in his first six holes.
At one stage French rookie Stalter overtook Wattel when he birdied the eighth and his compatriot’s dropped a shot.
But Stalter’s challenge died when he had three bogeys on the back nine and Wattel birdied the tenth while a run of pars kept him in contention as others stumbled.
The Connelly had six birdies in a closing 66 to finish second on 14 under.
Scores after the final round:
-15 Romain Wattel (France) 69 67 64 69
-14 Austin Connelly (Canada) 71 67 66 66
-13 Eddie Pepperell (Britain) 69 68 69 65
George Coetzee (South Africa) 69 67 68 67
Lee Westwood (Britain) 70 65 67 69
Sebastian Heisele (Germany) 66 68 68 69
Justin Walters (South Africa) 72 67 65 67
Joel Stalter (France) 65 67 69 70
-12 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand) 68 65 66 73
Chris Wood (Britain) 70 69 68 65
Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) 66 69 71 66
Joakim Lagergren (Sweden) 67 65 70 70
Matt Wallace (Britain) 68 68 69 67
-11 Paul Dunne (Ireland) 74 68 65 66
Carlos Pigem (Spain) 72 67 68 66
-10 Filipe Lima (Portugal) 70 68 69 67
-9 Clement Berardo (France) 69 72 67 67
Matteo Manassero (Italy) 68 68 68 71
Richard Finch (Britain) 66 67 72 70
-8 Duncan Stewart (Britain) 71 68 70 67
Jason Scrivener (Australia) 70 68 70 68
Alexander Bjoerk (Sweden) 73 65 73 65
Todd Sinnott (Australia) 68 73 68 67
Wil Besseling (Netherlands) 70 69 70 67
-7 Richie Ramsay (Britain) 70 72 68 67
Maximilian Kieffer (Germany) 69 69 72 67
Wade Ormsby (Australia) 74 68 66 69
Mikko Ilonen (Finland) 69 70 68 70
Chris Hanson (Britain) 68 71 68 70
Oliver Fisher (Britain) 72 68 70 67
-6 Ben Evans (Britain) 72 69 67 70
Wu Ashun (China) 67 68 71 72
Robert Dinwiddie (Britain) 69 69 73 67
Dylan Frittelli (South Africa) 70 69 69 70
Ross Fisher (Britain) 73 68 68 69
Stuart Manley (Britain) 71 68 68 71
Magnus Carlsson (Sweden) 72 68 67 71
-5 Thomas Detry (Belgium) 75 66 68 70
Pep Angles (Spain) 68 70 73 68
Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) 70 70 67 72
Johan Carlsson (Sweden) 75 67 67 70
Daan Huizing (Netherlands) 69 71 72 67
Mikko Korhonen (Finland) 67 71 70 71
Damien Perrier (France) 69 70 69 71
Peter Hanson (Sweden) 70 69 68 72
David Horsey (Britain) 76 66 68 69
Matthieu Pavon (France) 68 69 70 72
-4 Daniel Brooks (Britain) 69 71 69 71
Adrian Otaegui (Spain) 71 71 70 68
Florian Fritsch (Germany) 71 70 68 71
Max Albertus (Netherlands) 69 70 73 68
Jaco Ahlers (South Africa) 72 69 73 66
Jorge Campillo (Spain) 76 66 73 65
Dean Burmester (South Africa) 77 65 68 70
Latest
-
News
Collin Morikawa keen to draw inspiration from family ties to Hawaii at Sony Open
Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas has withdrawn from the event after testing positive for coronavirus.
-
News
R&A: ‘No plans’ for Open to head to Donald Trump-owned Turnberry in near future
Trump National in Bedminster was on Sunday stripped of next year’s US PGA Championship.
-
News
US PGA Championship moved from Donald Trump-owned course in New Jersey
Trump National in Bedminster had been set to host the event.
-
News
Justin Thomas : ‘I made a terrible, terrible judgement call’
Thomas admitted he was distracted by what happened on Saturday during his final round.
-
News
PGA Championship to be moved away from Donald Trump-owned course
It is the second time in six years the PGA has moved an event away from a course owned by Donald Trump.
-
News
‘It’s inexcusable’ – Justin Thomas apologises for homophobic slur in Hawaii
The world number three was heard using the derogatory word towards himself after missing a par putt.
-
News
Westwood, McDowell back petition to allow English golf courses to open
The duo have added their names to a petition that has passed 100 000 signatures.
-
News
Xander Schauffele pledges to ‘fake it until I make it’ after contracting Covid
Schauffele is one of 16 players in the Sentry Tournament of Champions who failed to win an official event last season.
-
News
After years with TaylorMade, Jon Rahm joins Callaway
Spaniard will have Callaway woods and irons in his bag at Sentry Tournament of Champions.
-
News
What to expect from the 2021 OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic
There are more prestigious events on the European Tour, but there’s no denying that the Dubai Desert Classic just has something about it.