Lagergren wins Sicily playoff
Joakim Lagergren of Sweden holds the trophy after winning the The Rocco Forte Open at the Verdura Gol Resort on May 13, 2018 in Sciacca, Italy. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Former Northern Ireland Open Challenge winner Joakim Lagergren birdied the first extra hole to beat Mike Lorenzo-Vera and claim his maiden European Tour title in Rocco Forte Sicilian Open.
The Swede (26) closed with a 68 to overnight leader Lorenzo-Vera's 70 to leave them one shot clear of England's Andy Sullivan and Australian Lucas Herbert on 16-under.
The winner made four birdies in his first nine holes at Verdura Golf Club, then came home in one-over 36 to allow Lorenzo-Vera back into the contest.
But as Lorenzo-Vera went through the green at the 18th in the playoff, a wonderful approach to eight feet set up a birdie on the first extra hole and handed him his first victory in 131 European Tour appearances, four years after he won the Challenge Tour's Northern Ireland Open Challenge at Galgorm Castle.
He's also the second first-time Swedish winner in three weeks following Alexander Björk's victory at the Volvo China Open.
Congratulations, @JoakimLagergren! 🏆
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 13, 2018
The 2018 #RFSicilianOpen Champion. pic.twitter.com/Qy11Fm642E
For Lorenzo-Vera, it is a second consecutive second-placed finish after he lost in the final at last week's GolfSixes alongside Romain Wattel.
Dane Lucas Bjerregaard was then at 14 under, one shot ahead of Frenchman Julien Guerrier.
England's Steven Brown and home favourite Francesco Laporta were at 11 under, a shot clear of two more Italians in Edoardo Molinari and Andrea Pavan.
Simon Khan made the 16th hole-in-one of the season and the second in as many days on the 15th when he holed a seven iron from 182 yards.
Joakim Lagergren
"I've been waiting for this moment my whole career. I'm so relieved and I'm so happy at the moment, I can't describe it in words. I've just been fighting so hard to get to here, it's just awesome.
"When you're just missing out a few times you really want to get that first win and it feels like you really need to get over that first step to then really continue and get more and more. This is a big step for me, I've taken the first one now, I'll rock on from here.
"I felt calm all day. I played really good golf, I played well the back nine. I didn't make any birdies, I didn't hole those putts that I needed to make but I still felt like I was in control of my game, I just needed some putts to drop.
"I'm so happy, relieved, emotional all at the same time. I started off really good, holed a few really good long putts on the first six holes so that was nice to come out of the blocks really good. I felt that my game was in good shape. I was covering the pin all the time, I just didn't have the distance control all the time with the approach shots but I made up for that with some good putts. It was nice to pass Mike that early in the round.
"I was still eager to win it, we're tied going into the last hole. I hit a really bad drive there and had to hit a five iron as hard as I could to get it close. It didn't really go all the way but a four made it into the play-off.
Mike Lorenzo Vera
"I'm not super happy, of course. What can I say? He made a birdie on the last and I didn't really have a chance. It was the kind of day where I was a bit far from the pins so it was hard to score low for me. He took his chance better than me.
"I was okay, still one shot behind with plenty of opportunities, that's the game. I gave it a go, I tried my best, he did it better than me. Now I'm just going to have to work more to be able to finish the job."
Andy Sullivan
"I didn't drive the ball particularly well on that front nine and just managed to hang in there and then felt like I finished that nine really well to get somewhere near.
"I just always felt that I was just one or two away from where I wanted to be, put that down to not hitting it close enough today or I look back to Friday afternoon and I played that back nine in three over.
"There's a lot of positives to look at. I'm looking at the side of it where I feel a bit down but I'm playing well again and starting to get myself back in contention. I just feel a little deflated that I just didn't quite get that extra one or two to get up top.
"It's almost like the European Tour have made it that the Rolex Series are the Majors now, you're trying to peak for those events and I feel going into Wentworth in two weeks, the game feels in great shape, I'm playing consistently well. If all things come together in one week, we might have a week like this where we get close.
"I feel like it's all there to be had for me this year."
Rocco Forte Sicilian Open, Verdura Golf Club (Par 72)
268 J Lagergren (Swe) 71 66 63 68, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 71 64 63 70,
269 L Herbert (Aus) 69 71 66 63, A Sullivan (Eng) 67 72 65 65,
270 L Bjerregaard (Den) 65 68 68 69,
271 J Guerrier (Fra) 68 65 67 71,
273 S Brown (Eng) 68 66 73 66, F Laporta (Ita) 69 69 67 68,
274 A Pavan (Ita) 72 66 66 70, E Molinari (Ita) 71 70 67 66,
275 A Connelly (Can) 70 74 65 66, R Evans (Eng) 65 69 71 70, P Waring (Eng) 70 68 70 67,
276 E Pepperell (Eng) 72 69 69 66, J Winther (Den) 71 74 65 66, T Aiken (RSA) 68 71 70 67, J Kruyswijk (RSA) 72 68 68 68, P Angles (Esp) 72 70 66 68, T Lewis (Eng) 71 71 67 67,
278 M Schwab (Aut) 69 73 66 70, M Tullo (Chi) 71 69 68 70, L Gagli (Ita) 72 72 67 67, P Mejow (Ger) 70 72 68 68, M Manassero (Ita) 72 73 68 65, J Fahrbring (Swe) 74 68 67 69,
279 S Khan (Eng) 74 71 67 67, N Cullen (Aus) 70 69 72 68, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 69 68 72, O Farr (Wal) 73 71 68 67, C Bezuidenhout (RSA) 71 72 66 70, G Migliozzi (Ita) 72 71 66 70, S Webster (Eng) 70 68 70 71, L Canter (Eng) 70 73 66 70,
280 K Johannessen (Nor) 68 75 67 70, J Walters (RSA) 73 72 68 67, Z Lombard (RSA) 71 71 68 70, E Park (Kor) 68 73 67 72, C Koepka (USA) 72 69 71 68, S Fernandez (Esp) 67 73 72 68, T Murray (Eng) 70 70 73 67,
281 S Chawrasia (Ind) 72 71 72 66, T Bjørn (Den) 71 70 69 71, V Perez (Fra) 73 70 70 68, H Porteous (RSA) 70 73 68 70, B Stow (Eng) 71 70 72 68, J Kruger (RSA) 72 70 69 70, M Armitage (Eng) 67 75 68 71,
282 S Gros (Fra) 68 72 69 73, D Brooks (Eng) 67 76 69 70, J Dantorp (Swe) 71 72 71 68, M Southgate (Eng) 72 71 71 68, D Im (USA) 74 71 69 68, M Nixon (Eng) 71 73 69 69, E Johansen (Nor) 73 70 70 69,
283 E Cuartero Blanco (Esp) 74 68 68 73, B Ritthammer (Ger) 75 68 70 70, M Baldwin (Eng) 70 74 69 70,
284 L Slattery (Eng) 71 72 70 71, M Millar (Aus) 72 73 69 70, O Lindell (Fin) 74 70 68 72, A Da Silva (Bra) 67 73 74 70, K Samooja (Fin) 71 74 71 68,
285 T Fisher Jnr (RSA) 69 74 71 71, F Fritsch (Ger) 74 71 70 70, R Finch (Eng) 69 76 69 71, E Lipparelli (Ita) 73 70 68 74, T Pulkkanen (Fin) 74 70 69 72, A Knappe (Ger) 71 74 70 70, C Braeunig (Ger) 76 69 67 73,
286 N Bertasio (Ita) 74 68 74 70, N Kimsey (Eng) 71 72 72 71, P Widegren (Swe) 73 71 71 71, G Manzoni (am) (Ita) 75 69 73 69,
287 F Maccario (Ita) 76 69 73 69,
289 G Bourdy (Fra) 70 73 71 75, H Leon (Chi) 70 74 72 73.
CUT (145)
148 Ruaidhri McGee (Irl) 77 71
