‘Hard work’ benefits Spain’s Larrazabal

Larrazabal carded a final round of 67 to finish 14-under, one stroke ahead of major winners McIlroy and Mickelson, who were both left to rue vital mistakes.

For McIlroy it was taking an incorrect drop on the second hole of his third round, an error which cost him a two-shot penalty and left him fuming about golf’s “stupid rules”.

Two years ago, the former world No 1 was penalised two shots in his second round here for brushing away some sand that was not on the green but which lay between his ball and the flag. He went on to finish one behind surprise winner Robert Rock.

Mickelson’s wound was also self-inflicted, the Open champion leading by one when he ran up a triple-bogey seven on the 13th attempting to hit a right-handed escape shot from under a bush, only to suffer a ‘double-hit’ when his ball bounced back onto his club.

The 43-year-old bounced back in typical fashion with birdies on the 14th and 16th, but was unable to find the eagle he needed on the 18th to force a play-off.

McIlroy had played alongside Larrazabal and the pair were both three-under for the day after 11 holes, but while McIlroy’s challenge stalled with a run of seven straight pars, Larrazabal birdied the 13th and hit two superb shots to the heart of the 18th green to set up the decisive birdie.

Larrazabal was barely able to believe he had beaten McIlroy and Mickelson to claim his third European Tour title, his previous wins coming in 2008 and 2011.

“I beat two of the three most talented guys in my era,” said Larrazabal, who likened his birdie putt on the 18th to the par putt holed by Martin Kaymer to retain the Ryder Cup at Medinah.

“This is the win of hard work and team work. I worked so hard for the last two years and over the winter and I beat two of the three most talented guys in my era.”

Sheffield’s Danny Willett ended the event on a positive note, overcoming a nightmare 76 on Saturday to hit 70 yesterday and finish eight shots behind the winner.