Laurie Canter claimed her long-awaited first DP World Tour title with a thrilling victory at the European Open in Germany, while Tom McKibbin finished in the top ten again in his first title defence.
The Hollywood native was four shots behind the leader going into the final round but just couldn't get going. Bogeys at the fifth and 16th holes were his only out-of-par scores in the first 17 holes, while his four birdies in the final round were small consolation, returning him to the top 10 for the fourth time in his last seven starts.
Next up is his first major at Pinewood, so while he was a little disappointed with his final-round performance, he knows his overall form is very good.
Britain's Kant was tied for first place going into the final round at Green Eagle Golf Links, but he got off to a slow start at Porsche North, finishing one stroke over par on the first ten holes.
Kanter stayed calm on the back nine, making three birdies and two bogeys to finish with a one-under-par 72, 13 under and two shots ahead of multiple-time DP World Tour champion Bernd Weisberg and Sriston Lawrence in second.
The 34-year-old, who has finished runner-up four times on the DP World Tour, including at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open earlier this season, was delighted to finally cross the finish line on a tense final day in Hamburg.
“Winning the DP World Tour is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Kante said after the match. “Now that I’ve done it, it’s going to open up some opportunities for me if I’m going to work my way up the world rankings and get myself on the biggest tour in the world and compete. You have to win and I think once you do that, you get that belief. Hopefully it means I can keep going and keep improving.”
“It’s very difficult when you feel like you haven’t succeeded and there’s this stigma around you. I knew in my heart that I could win. I realised that I should pay attention to what my friends and family think of me and focus more on that, rather than trying to win for someone on Twitter. That probably helped me.
“I tried not to get bogged down in the tournament and just keep it real. Today everything went my way, it didn’t in the past and now I probably do, and looking back at the times when I didn’t I think it was less about what I did and more about what other people did.
“I hit a great putt today on the 15th and 16th holes, and I had that happen today, and from my perspective, I just kept moving forward. I know how to play golf, and I just kept telling myself that.”
Despite finishing in the top 10 at last week’s Sodeo Open, he used a new set of irons this week, and the decision paid off as he finished in the top 10 of the Race to Dubai in partnership with Rolex and climbed to the top of the European Swing Rankings.
France's Julien Guerrier and Denmark's Niklas Nørgaard finished fourth at 10 under, while Japan's Keita Nakajima was one stroke back in sixth.
Spain's Rafa Cabrera Bello finished seventh at eight under, while three-time DP World Tour champion Guido Migliozzi, Britons Tom Lewis and Garrick Porteous and American Johannes Veerman tied for eighth with McKibbin at seven under.
The Race to Dubai now heads to Sweden for the Volvo Cars Scandinavian Mix, which will be held at Vasatorps Golfklubb from June 6-9.
Full marks