Tunnicliff gains wire to wire victory

Britain's Miles Tunnicliff led the Diageo Championship from start to finish to complete his second European Tour victory on Sunday two years after his first.

The 35-year-old closed with a bogey-free four-under-par 68 to total 13-under-par 275, five strokes ahead of fellow-Briton Graeme McDowell, the largest winning margin on the European Tour this year by two shots.

Tunnicliff claimed his first title, the 2002 Great North Open, when playing mostly on the Challenge Tour and after visiting qualifying school 12 times.

After birdieing his opening two holes to extend an overnight three-shot lead, Tunnicliff never looked back and became the second European Tour 'wire-to-wire' winner of the season, following world number two Ernie Els in the Heineken Classic.

McDowell, who had sacrificed a chance of pre-qualifying for the U.S. Open by going to Gleneagles, mounted a serious challenge with five successive birdies around the turn, but then double-bogeyed the long-16th on his way to a 67.

"I needed proof for myself that I could be a winner again. Leading from day one to the end rather did that. Hopefully I can go on from here, " said the Spanish-based Tunnicliff who sports an England flag on his right golf shoe and a Spanish one on the right in honour of wife Encarni.

Tunnicliff adopted the ploy of the previous two weeks' winners by not looking at a scoreboard throughout his round to stay in control of his game on a day of high winds.

"I felt so focused and it was a dream start," said the winner.

His $430,000 first prize elevated him to 13th on the European money list.

Australian Nick O'Hern (71) and Briton Steven O'Hara (67) finished joint third, six shots behind Tunnicliff. Struggling Colin Montgomerie ended a distant 12 strokes off the winner after a closing 72.

There were two holes-in-one during the final round, both by Britons, Robert Coles at the fourth and Raymond Russell at the 10th, but neither ace-maker won a prize.

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