Five dropped shots in his first two holes forced Richard O'Donovan to settle for a share of 26th in the Red Sea Ain Sokhna Classic on the EPD Tour in Egypt.

The Lucan man made a doubel bogey six at the first and a triple bogey seven at the second before playing the remaining holes in two under for a closing 74 at Sokhna Golf Club south of Suez. Scores

His two over par final round, which featured five birdies and two further bogeys, left him nine shots behind the winner on two over par.

Germany's Philipp Mejow (71) claimed the top prize of €5,000 when he birdied the third extra hole to beat compatriots Hinrich Arkenau (70) and Benedict Staben (71) after they had tied on seven under par after 54 holes.

O'Donovan, who was 14th on his seasonal debut on the EPD Tour, earned €369 for his week's work and is 17th in the money list with €894 from his first two starts.