Richie Ramsay nervelessly holed his tricky par putt at the 18th to win the Cazoo Classic by one shot.
Overnight leader Julien Guerrier had been the man to catch for most of the day at Hillside Golf Club, but birdies at the 14th, 15th and 17th helped Ramsay head to the last with a one-shot lead.
The 39-year-old missed the fairway off the 18th tee but managed to give himself an eight-foot par putt, which he duly holed to sign for a closing 69, finish the tournament on 14 under par and return to the winner’s circle for the first time since his Trophée Hassan II victory in March 2015.
The win will help Ramsay banish the memory of his near-miss at the Betfred British Masters in May, where a closing double-bogey ended his chances of victory at The Belfry.
Local favourite Paul Waring finished alone in second on 13 under thanks to his Sunday 70, with Guerrier in a five-way tie for third another shot back alongside Marcus Kinhult, Robin Petersson, Daan Huizing and Grant Forrest.
South Africans Darren Fichardt and Richard Sterne both finished on seven under (T20), with JC Ritchie on two under and Zander Lombard on one under.
Oliver Bekker ended on three over and Wilco Nienaber on six over, while Bryce Easton, Thriston Lawrence, Louis de Jager and Jacques Blaauw all missed the weekend cut.
Pure elation 😍 @RamsayGolf | #CazooClassic pic.twitter.com/IdzMCHpQLh
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 24, 2022
Ramsay went into the final round one shot back but saw that deficit extended to three strokes early on as he opened with seven straight pars and playing partner Guerrier made back-to-back birdies at the 4th and 5th.
The Scot got his first birdie of the day from 12 feet on the 8th but gave the shot back at the 12th after missing the fairway off the tee.
But as Guerrier’s bogey on the 13th opened the door for the chasing pack, Ramsay took full advantage, birdieing the 14th to get to 12 under before a two-shot swing at the 15th earned him a share of the lead as he made a birdie and Guerrier dropped a shot.
Ramsay took the outright lead courtesy of a brilliant birdie on the 17th which moved him to 14 under, but he missed the fairway at the 18th, giving hope to Waring, who was in the clubhouse on 13 under.
But he produced a stunning par save on the last to secure a one-shot victory.
– Report from DP World Tour website
