Eddie Pepperell. Picture: Getty Images
England's Eddie Pepperell secured his Masters debut when he held off Alexander Bjork for his second win of the season in the Sky Sports British Masters at Walton Heath.
As Padraig Harrington fired a 70 to finish as the best of the Irish, tied for 22nd on level par, Pepperell (27) crucially holed out from the rough from 120 yards for an eagle two at the 10th.
Including an ace the ninth in the first round, his fourth eagle of the week restored his three-shot overnight lead and he survived back to back bogeys at the 15th and 16th to close with a 72 and win by two shots from the Swede, who bogeyed the last for a 71, on nine-under par.
"I'm very pleased," said Pepperell, who claimed his maiden win in Qatar in February and can now make plans for his trip to Augusta National after moving from 133rd to 33rd in the world this year.
"It was a grind, tough day with the conditions. I played really well today, and I'm just thankful I got myself a nice lead. I needed it."
On his eagle two, he added: "I hit nine-iron and it just came out perfect. Shows that you need those breaks to go your way sometimes to win, and it went my way this week."
Shane Lowry shot 72 alongside Harrington to finish 34th on two-over to move to 63rd in the Race to Dubai with the top 60 qualifying for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
Paul Dunne shot 74 to tie for 42nd on three over in tough final round conditions and lies 53rd in the money list.
While Lowry is teeing it up in this week's Andalucia Valderrama Masters (where Gavin Moynihan today made the field from the reserve list), Dunne will have two weeks off before the Turkish Airlines Open having failed to make the top 30 in the Race to Dubai who qualify for next week's WGC HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
Kit and Crowley Walsh tied fifth at Youth Olympics
Lauren Crowley Walsh and David Kitt
At the Youth Olympics in Argentina, Ireland's Lauren Crowley Walsh and David Kitt are seven shots off the lead heading into the final round of the Mixed Team event.
After firing a seven-under 63 in the fourballs, they shot a two-over 72 in the foursomes at Hurlingham Club in Buenos Aires yesterday to share fifth place with Indonesia and Argentina on five-under-par ahead of the individual strokeplay where the combined scores count.
Thailand leads by a shot from Italy on 12-under with the USA third on eight-under and Switzerland fourth on seven-under.
Leishman wins CIMB Classic; McDowell set for 2018-19 season
In Malaysia, Australian Marc Leishman (34) cruised to his fourth PGA Tour win at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia.
He closed with a seven-under 65 at TPC Kuala Lumpur to win by five shots from Emiliano Grillo (66), Chesson Hadley (66) and Bronson Burgoon (68) on 26-under par.
Two-time CIMB Classic winner Justin Thomas shot 64 to tie for fifth.
The PGA Tour remains in Asia this week for the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges where Graeme McDowell will tee it up for just the second time in eight weeks following his six-week break between the Wyndham Championship and the Alfred Dunhill Links.
The Portrush native is 221st in the world and winless since he capture the OHL Classic at Mayakoba nearly three years ago. Latest world rankings
Kalle Samooja. Picture: Hainan Sports
Super Kalle wins; Hoey makes mini move
Meanwhile, Finland's Kalle Samooja secured his 2019 European Tour card when he fired a second successive 71 to win the Hainan Open on Saturday.
He won by two shots from Scotland's Grant Forrest on 15-under par and rocketed to second on the Road to Ras Al Khaimah.
Michael Hoey (39) tied for 26th at Sanya Luhuitou Golf Club, closing with a one-under 71 to finish on three-under-par.
The Ballymoney man moved up one spot in the rankings to 20th but while he has cut the gap on the 15th ranked player to just €12,803, he's got just this week's Foshan Open and Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final to make the promotion spots.
Orr wins back to back; McGovern 18th
On the Staysure Tour, Gary Orr clinched the Paris Legends Championship on Saturday to record back-to-back victories on the Seniors circuit.
After winning the Scottish Senior Open in his previous start, he finished with a four-under 68 to win by a shot from Markus Brier and Jean-François Remesy on 12-under at Racing Club de France La Boulie.
Brendan McGovern shot a joint best of the day 67 to tie for 18th on four-under but lies 41st in the Order of Merit with the top 20 fully exempt at the end of the season.
Langer wins again; Clarke tied 52nd
On the PGA Tour Champions, Darren Clarke birdied his last two holes to close with a one-under 71 and finish tied for 52nd on three-over in the SAS Championship at Prestonwood Country Club in North Carolina.
Germany’s Bernhard Langer (61) shot 65 to win by six strokes from Scott Parel on 22-under and claim his 38th win on the US seniors circuit since 2007.
Clarke has played six events on the PGA Tour Champions since he turned 50 in August, clinching his lone top 25 finish to date on his debut in the Boeing Classic and earning $56,743.
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