Britain’s David Dixon secured his maiden European Tour title after producing a faultless closing five-under 66 to win the St Omer Open by one shot on Sunday.
Englishman Dixon, who started his week with a 77, was four strokes behind Sweden’s Christian Nilsson overnight but surged past the long time front-runner with a five-under-par 279 total. Nilsson closed with a 71 to finish a stroke behind.
The 31-year-old Dixon, the 2001 silver medallist at the British Open as top amateur, became the 11th first time winner on the European Tour the hard way.
His opening round was the highest by a winner this season, but a run of four birdies from the seventh enabled Dixon, who had missed the cut in seven of his last eight events to languish 171st on the European money-list, to wipe out all but one shot of Nilsson’s overnight advantage.
When the Swede dropped shots at the 11th and 12th, Dixon’s final birdie, at the 14th, proved decisive and he went on to secure the $157,000 first prize, an exemption for the 2009 European Tour season and a place in the November Champions event, for which world number one Tiger Woods qualifies.
“It maybe only a small tournament to win but it has massive consequences,” Dixon told reporters.
“I cleared all those thoughts out of my mind, though, stayed pretty calm and holed some good putts - and then hung on.”
The victory came seven years after Dixon burst onto the golfing scene by taking the amateur honours at Royal Lytham and St Annes.
“People got a bit carried away with what I did in 2001 so it’s been a bit of a slow process in getting my first win,” Dixon added. “But I changed my management company for this season and I’d felt something good might happen.”
Briton Steven O’Hara finished third on three-under, a stroke behind Nilsson.
del.icio.us
digg
reddit
stumbleupon
facebook
google
What are these 
Email This Page