Rabat: Ross McGowan ended a title drought of 912 days to win the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam Open — the opening event of the ten-stage 2015 Mena Golf Tour — late on Monday.
The Englishman came back from six shots behind overnight to card a five-under par 68 to reach three under par for the tournament, which was good enough to seal his second victory on tour following the 2012 Abu Dhabi Golf Citizen Open.
With this victory, McGowan also matched the feat of compatriot Ross Canavan, who had produced the biggest final-round comeback by a winner when he claimed the 2011 Ras Al Khaimah Open, wiping off a six-shot deficit.
McGowan’s compatriots Stuart Archibald and Jack Hiluta shared second on one under, with Morocco’s Faycal Serghini, a three-time runner-up on the tour, settling for a tied third on level par along with Austria’s Manuel Trappel, who started the final round three in front.
“I played really well and got a bit lucky in the end to win the tournament,” said McGowan, who won the European Tour’s Madrid Masters in 2009.
“Six behind overnight, I needed a decent start to get the round going. As luck would have it, I birdied three of the first five holes and kept the momentum rolling all the way through,” added the Englishman, whose final round contained six birdies, one eagle and three bogeys.
“Making an eagle on the 10th when I hit a hybrid from 235 yards to within eight feet proved to be the turning point as, at five-under, it was just a case of holding on to the advantage. I putted solid and that, in the end, made the difference.”
Overnight leader Trappel, who closed with a four-over 77, said it was a tough day. “This course doesn’t allow mistakes and I made many. There was nothing special about my game and whatever I did right was derailed once I got on the greens.
“I just struggled on the greens despite creating many birdie opportunities. Playing in the final group for the first time was a great learning curve. I need to keep doing things what I have been doing. Hopefully, I will get better with experience,” he added.
Elsewhere, England’s Alex Wills finished on three over par with a final day’s level par to win the amateur division two strokes clear of compatriot James Allan, who had led the division for the first two rounds only to end on a 79.
Promising Saudi Arabia star Khalid Attieh finished fourth in the amateur division on six over par closing with a 76 to win the award for best Arab amateur.
The Mena Golf Tour travels to Mohammadia next week for the Royal D’Anfa Open, which has a record field of 106 players, including 26 amateurs.
