Big names upstaged as unheralded Dubuisson holds on

France’s Victor Dubuisson overcame some of the biggest names in world golf and a Jamie Donaldson hole-in-one to claim his maiden professional victory at the Turkish Airlines Open.
Richard FinchRichard Finch
Richard Finch

The 23-year-old began the final round with a five-shot lead in Antalya, but failed to make a birdie on the front nine and came under threat from world No 1 Tiger Woods, US Open champion Justin Rose, Ryder Cup star Ian Poulter and Race to Dubai leader Henrik Stenson.

Dubuisson finally picked up his first shot of the day at the 10th after almost driving the green at the par four, but when he recorded his first bogey for 33 holes at the 14th he was suddenly caught when Welshman Donaldson aced the 180-yard 16th with a seven iron.

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Rose then birdied the 16th to make it a three-way tie at the top, but Dubuisson held his nerve to pick up a shot at the 15th and finished in style with a 35-foot birdie putt at the 17th and pitch to six feet at the last for a three-under-par 69 final round and 24-under total.

That was two better than Donaldson, who missed a six-foot eagle putt at the last, and four clear of Rose and Woods – the latter’s strong finish little more than a consolation after some indifferent play around the turn.

“It’s so great,” said Dubuisson, “I don’t realise that I just won such a big tournament – Tiger, Stenson, Justin Rose, they were all in contention with me.

“It’s a really great feeling and I’m really proud of what I did because it was the toughest golf day of my life.

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“On this course level par is a good score but with this level of players you cannot win a tournament with a level-par score, even with a five-shot lead.

“So on the back nine I tried my best to make some birdies and I had a great putt on 17 – one of those putts that you make to make a dream come true.”

Dubuisson’s victory earns him over £700,000, while he will also move into the world’s top 40 – almost certainly enough to earn him an invite to Augusta.

Harrogate’s John Parry closed with a 72 and Sheffield’s Danny Willett a 74 to finish on four under and one under respectively.

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Hull’s Richard Finch is well placed after the first round of the European Tour’s Qualifying School final stage in Girona.

Finch lost his card after mustering just one top-10 finish this season. A six-under-par 64 over the Tour Course at PGA Catalunya Resort left him tied for second in Spain, where the top 25 and ties will earn a place on the 2014 Race to Dubai after a six-round marathon.

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