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Olazabal wins rain affected tournament

Jose Maria Olazabal survived a 36-hole final day to capture the French Open on Sunday. The 35-year-old Spaniard shot a final-round 67 for a total of 12-under-par 268, good for a two-shot victory over Costantino Rocca, Greg Turner and Paul Eales.

"It feels great," said Olazabal, who will get the chance to defend his title at the Benson and Hedges International Open next week. "I am very, very pleased. It was a good fight within myself just to stay calm -- as calm as possible and focused as possible to get the most out of every shot."

Olazabal sealed his 19th European Tour win with a six-foot birdie putt at the par-five 18th. Besides earning a first-place check for 216,660 euro, the two- time Masters champion vaulted to eighth on the Order of Merit and sixth on the European Ryder Cup points standings.

"If I want to make the Ryder Cup team, it is very important for me to do well in those tournaments I am going to play in Europe. This is a very important step towards that."

Olazabal posted two birdies and a bogey on the front nine before knocking his tee shot at the par-three 14th to four feet. He made the putt for birdie to take a one-shot edge at 11-under par.

Despite the fact he claimed his first victory since his triumph at The Belfry last year, Olazabal was concerned about the inconsistency of his ball striking this week.

"I’m very happy with what I have done even though I know I should have struck the ball better," he said. "There are ways to score and ways to play golf. I’m very happy with the way I scored this week but think I need to improve the quality of the shots I hit, especially off the tee. That’s what my target and job is for the next few weeks."

Rocca tied Olazabal for the 54-hole lead by shooting a bogey-free 64 in the third round, which was played Sunday morning due to the waterlogged course conditions that plagued the Sangliers course at Lyon Golf Club this week. Although he dropped off the pace by starting the fourth round with two bogeys, the Italian recovered with back-to-back birdies at five and six.

Rocca, who won the 1993 French Open in a playoff at National Golf Club, added a birdie at 13 but missed an important birdie chance at 15 that would have tied him for the lead. He then dropped a shot at the 16th before wrapping up with a birdie at the last for a 69 and a share of 10-under-par 270.

"I made two or three mistakes but I’ve enjoyed my game," said Rocca, who notched his maiden victory at Lyon's Brocards course in the 1993 Open V33 du Grand Lyon. "When you play a course or near a course where you won it brings back good memories and I thought about my first win. This has been a good week for me."

Turner, who lost the 1999 French Open to Retief Goosen in a playoff, made a run at the top of the leaderboard Sunday but fell out of contention with a double-bogey at the 16th. He struck back with an eagle at 18 to close with a 67.

Eales collected three birdies and a bogey for a 68 and his best finish since 1995.

Local favorites Gregory Havret and Marc Farry each turned in 68s to finish at nine-under and eight-under, respectively. England's Ian Garbutt shot a six- under 64 -- the best score of the final round -- to tie Paul McGinley of Ireland and Denmark's Anders Hansen at minus-seven.

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