England’s Chris Wood came from five shots down to claim victory in the Lyoness Open at Atzenbrugg on Sunday and secure a second European Tour title.
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The 27-year-old Bristol golfer carded a superb final five-under round of 67 as overnight leader, Frenchman Gregory Bourdy, collapsed and Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain also faltered over the turn at the Diamond Country Club.
Wood picked up five birdies to put pressure on the leaders as Bourdy, in complete contrast to the first three days, produced a horrible six over par while Cabrera-Bello finished level as the Englishman recorded a two-stroke victory at 15 under.
Robert Rock produced the best closing round of six under par to shoot up the leaderboard for a share of third place, which would have been better but for a bogey on the 14th. Compatriots Robert Dinwiddie and Matthew Fitzpatrick also finished on 10 under.
Chris Wood wins his second ET title with a two-shot victory at the #LyonessOpen. HUGE CONGRATULATIONS! pic.twitter.com/CPGLpCbTOK
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) June 14, 2015
Bourdy ended tied sixth following his 78, a final round which swiftly went downhill after a birdie on the first was followed by a double bogey on the second and three more on the back nine.
Meanwhile, Cabrera-Bello saw his challenge dented after three successive bogeys from the ninth hole, with birdies on 15 and 16 just not enough to pull himself back into contention.
It was a first European Tour victory for Wood since the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in 2013 and marked a return from a wrist injury suffered while playing tennis.
He said: “It was a long winter sitting at home with a cast on my wrist getting frustrated and just wanting to be out here playing and competing. I have been playing well the last few weeks so I felt that a victory was coming, but until the moment comes you always think when will it come?
“I played great all week and today especially. I felt that if I could beat 68 today I would have an outside chance and obviously, things went my way and 67 was good enough.
“People will probably look at the result and think it was fairly straightforward but I needed to play well today and for a few other things to go my way and thankfully it all came together for me.
“It has been a while since the win in Qatar, but let me tell you it feels a lot better to say I am a two-time winner on Tour – it is a very special feeling to win out here so I am looking forward to celebrating this one.”
