Frenchman Jeff Remesy clinched a high-scoring Estoril Open by two strokes on Sunday to claim a European Tour card in one fell-swoop, becoming the sixth first-time winner of the season.

The 34-year-old Cannes professional carded a four-under-par 68 in a windswept final round to total two-under-par 286, two strokes better than Italy's Massimo Florioli and Britons Andrew Coltart and David Carter.

Remesy's winning total was the Tour's highest aggregate of the year by three strokes.

Coltart played with Remesy and matched the Frenchman until double-bogeying the 17th hole.

Remesy and Coltart replaced the third round leader Jose Rivero as they came down the home stretch and the Spaniard dropped shots to squander his one-stroke lead.

With a playoff looming, Coltart's four-iron tee-shot on the short 17th left him in the left back-bunker and needing to stand outside the trap to play.

When he thinned his shot back over the green, the Scot's victory chance had gone.

Remesy could have struggled, too, because he bogeyed the hole but restored his two-under-par mark by hitting in to only six feet on the last for his seventh birdie.

The Frenchman had led the second round and charged back into contention by birdieing five of the first seven holes, only holding himself back early on with a double-bogey at the short fifth.

It was 13th-time-lucky for Remesy after 12 visits to qualifying school. After he had failed to keep his card last year, he had even thought about giving up the pro game during the winter.

Help from a sports psychologist persuaded him he could succeed and he responded by winning last week's French PGA title.

When he ran up the double-bogey early on, his psychologist's advice reaped dividends.

"It helped to be three-under-par for the first four holes and back in the race," said Remesy.

"But it was a shock to make double-bogey because I was just trying to play safe from a bunker and 'shanked' my ball through the green under a bush.

"My sports psychologist has advised me to take confidence on what I can do on the course, focus better, just keep cool, and I was able to do that because I birdied the next two holes.

"It was me that won the tournament, though. I just made less mistakes than the rest."

Carter, winner of the World Cup of Golf title with Nick Faldo last year, carded the week's best score, a 67, while Florioli pushed up his winnings with a birdie on the last for a 71.