Pyman gains first win for five years

Yorkshire's Iain Pyman overcame a rocky closing three holes to complete his first victory in five years as a professional in the BMW Russian Open in Moscow.

The Leeds man was in cruise control on 17 under and four strokes clear standing on the par-three 16th tee.

But he three-putted from 15 feet for bogey at 16 then drove into the lake at the long 17th to drop back to 15 under.

At the same time, South African Hennie Otto was holing for birdie at the 465-yard 18th for a 69 and 274, 14 under.

It left Pyman needing a par-four at the last to avoid a play-off and he did just that, driving in to the centre of the fairway, hitting his approach to 25 feet and safely two-putting for a 71. It left him on 15-under-par 273, one clear of Otto and three ahead of Benoit Teilleria from France and Scotland's Greg Hutcheon.

"I wasn't getting nervous over those closing holes but I was frustrated on the back nine because I couldn't hole a putt," said Pyman. "But it's a nice feeling knowing you need a par at the last to win and then go and do it.

"I knew I could win tournaments from my amateur days but it's taken a long time. Now this is going to give me a lot of confidence to go on and perhaps win a couple more Challenge Tour events."

Matching Pyman for the biggest smile of the day was Dutchman Niels Kraay who holed-in-one with a four-iron at the 197-yard eighth to win a BMW worth over £40,000.