Scotland’s Greig Hutcheon came storming through the field with a stunning course record 64 to win the Legends Open de France by two shots.
Starting the final round four shots off the lead, Hutcheon made nine birdies on his way to the best round of the week and a -13 total that was enough to see off overnight leader Simon Khan and Scott Hend, who finished tied second on -11.
It was a birdie-fest on the La Forêt course at Le Touquet, especially on the front nine, and as many as 15 players had a genuine chance of winning as a dramatic final round unfolded in northern France.
Hutcheon made a good start with birdies at the 1st and 3rd holes. He dropped a shot at the par-5 5th but bounced straight back with a birdie two at the 6th. He thrust himself into contention with a birdie barrage of four in a row from the 9th that got him into a share of the lead.
Three pars followed before he broke clear with back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17. He burned the edge for birdie from 20 feet on the final hole, but his magnificent 64 set the clubhouse target at -13.
Khan, Hend and Robert Coles had a chance to catch him, but they couldn’t find enough late birdies to force a play-off.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said the three-time Challenge Tour winner. “It’s a lesson in perseverance and just sort of battling on through quite a few injuries, and so on. So yeah, I think it’s determination that has got me here.”
Hutcheon finished eighth on the MCB Road to Mauritius in his rookie season last year, and his first win on the circuit takes the 51-year-old to seventh on this year’s standings.