Romero coasts to ten shot win

Veteran Argentine Eduardo Romero led from start to finish to overwhelm the European Masters field, winning by 10 strokes on Sunday to take his second Swiss title in six years.

A closing four-under-par 67 for a 23-under total of 261 gave 46-year-old Romero his huge margin of victory over Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, who finished with a 66 for 271.

Northern Irishman Darren Clarke, who was second overnight, ended in third place on 272 following a 70.

Romero collected 225,000 dollars for his seventh European Tour title, which came at the course where he won his last event in 1994.

He took an eight-stroke advantage into the final round over Clarke, so it was vital for the Northern Irishman that he should test Romero's often fragile concentration early to have any chance of reducing such a huge deficit.

However, when Clarke double-bogeyed the third by failing to get his ball out of the bunker first time, the pressure was off the Cordoban, who increased his lead by collecting four birdies to the turn, and won at a canter.

Romero wins the Canon European Masters for the second time. Allsport.

His 10-shot winning margin would have been just one off the tour record, but for Tiger Woods' 15-stroke success in the U.S. Open, which now counts on the European money list.

Romero, though, was just happy to end a six-year drought by becoming the oldest winner since compatriot Vicente Fernandez took the 1992 English Open title, also at 46.

Age did not diminish Romero's strength, though, as he left playing partner Clarke comparing his driving to that of Woods as the Argentine smashed it 340 yards on the par-five ninth for his fourth birdie.

"I feel great, very strong like Tiger Woods," said the jubilant winner after being carried on the shoulders of fans draping the Argentine flag around him. "Six years and now I think I can win next week as well.

"Definitely the key was my concentration. I've been practising yoga for over a year now and I'm a completely different man.

"It would have been easy to lose concentration taking an eight-shot lead into the last round but I kept it fantastically until I dropped my only shot at the 17th."

Clarke did not look in any danger of losing second place, despite Bjorn collecting seven birdies, because the Dane bogeyed the 16th to fall two strokes behind the Northern Irishman.

However, Clarke was jolted by his second double-bogey when he missed, then overshot, the 16th green. A subsequent dropped stroke on the 17th let in the Dane for second place.

Six-time major winner Nick Faldo, playing 10 of his first 11 tournaments on the European Tour to try to seal his Ryder Cup place early, completed a successful weekend with a 67 for 275 which took him to a share of sixth place and earned him 48,750 Cup points.

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