Laurie Canter unlocks her counter at the European Open, Julien Guerrier at the foot of the podium

This fourth round of the European Open will have taken time to settle. The fault lies with the contenders who were disturbed by the wind and who seemed tense for a long time. Indeed, of the five highest ranked golfers at the end of the moving day, only one managed to play under par this Sunday: Laurie Canter.

Initially shy (two birdies, two bogeys after 14 holes), the Englishman, leader since Friday evening, above all remained patient and solid, while his competitors (Guido Migliozzi, Niklas Norgaard, etc.) successively cracked, before push the accelerator decisively in the finale.

First victory in 142 starts

Thanks to a great approach at the 15th and a formidable string from 11 meters at the 16th, the 34-year-old golfer made two new birdies and widened the gap at the top of the ranking at the best of times. Despite a final scare, and a third bogey conceded at 17, the LIV member then secured par at 18, to return a card of 72 (-13 total) and win the first title of his career on the DP World Tour in 142 departures.

“ This is what I always wanted to do: win on the DP World Tourconfided Canter after his victory. Now that I have done it, it will open up new opportunities for me. It’s quite difficult when you feel like you can’t do it. I know deep down that I can win. I realized that I needed to focus on and absorb what my close friends and family think of me rather than trying to win for someone on Twitter. I tried not to get overwhelmed by the tournament. Today (Sunday)everything happened as I had planned, which was not the case in the past. »

The Bath native won with a two-length lead over a duo (-11 total) composed of Thriston Lawrence, author of a great comeback thanks to his score of 68, the best of the day (seven birdies, two bogeys ) and Bernd Wiesberger. The Austrian almost came back on Canter in the final straight with his three birdies in a row gleaned between holes 14 and 16 (five in total). However, the eight-time winner on the European Tour then stalled, making a third bogey at 17, due to three putts.

Grime warrior in the top 10, Vaillant leaves

4th place (-10 total) is occupied by Niklas Norgaard and Julien Guerrier. The Frenchman recorded a score of 69 (six birdies, two bogeys) and achieved his second top 10 of the season in the European First Division at the end of this superb finish. The 38-year-old could perhaps even have aimed higher without this missed approach at 18.

Kaita Nakajima finished 6th (-9), just ahead of Rafa Cabrera Bello, only 7th (-8). The top 10 is completed by five players who share 8th place (-7). There we find Tom McKibbin, Tom Lewis, Johannes Veerman, Garrick Porteous and Guido Migliozzi. Co-leader after 54 holes, the Italian sank this Sunday and completed the course in 78 shots (one birdie, four bogeys, one double bogey).

Likewise, Tom Vaillant also had a complicated game. The Cannes resident, in difficulty, particularly with putting, also signed a card of 78 (five bogeys) and fell to 18th position (-5 total). His compatriot Ko Jeong weon is in 34th place (by total) while David Ravetto finishes 126th (+7).