A closing round of 69 gave the 34 year old from Corrientes a 14 under par total of 274, two clear of Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher and England’s Jonathan Lomas.

His victory marked the 20th Argentine success on The European Tour International Schedule and followed his previous victories in the 2001 Omega European Masters and the Telefonica Open de Madrid last year.

With Lomas setting an impressive target of 12 under par 276 after a round of 66 that included a hole-in-one on the third and an eagle three two holes later, Gonzalez needed to produce something special over the closing holes. He responded in style with three birdies in the last five holes, sealing victory with a curling 30 foot birdie putt on the final green.

Victory earned him €166,660 and lifted him to 21st in the Volvo Order of Merit.

Lomas, chasing his second European Tour title, put up a strong challenge, picking up five strokes in his first five holes to put the pressure on the leaders. Two more birdies at the 14th and 16th holes took Lomas to the top of the leaderboard but he was unable to save his par on the last.

His 12 under par total was matched by Gallacher who made five birdies with just one dropped shot for a 68 in his bid for a first European Tour title.

Robert-Jan Derksen (70) of The Netherlands, the 2003 Dubai Desert Classic Champion, South African Louis Oosthuizen (66) and Jean-Francois Remesy (68) of France shared fourth place two shots further back on ten under par 278.

 


Courtesy of www.europeantour.com