Jeppe Huldahl's bogey-free final round of 67 earned him a one-shot victory at the Wales Open.
Unheralded Dane triumphs at Celtic Manor
Denmark's Jeppe Huldahl secured his maiden European Tour victory with a bogey-free final round of 67 at the Wales Open.
The 26-year-old picked up four birdies in his first 11 holes before parring the final seven to complete a one-shot success over Niclas Fasth.
He is the third shock winner on the European Tour in the last four weeks, following Irish amateur Shane Lowry and world number 449 Christian Cevaer.
"It feels amazing," said Huldahl, who had not managed a top 10 in his previous 44 career starts.
"I couldn't feel my hands the last three holes. I knew I was doing well, but I didn't know how well until I asked my caddie on the 18th tee.
"He told me I needed a par - and it's nice to have a par five and have a chance to lay up. But I couldn't put winning out of my head and it was quite emotional."
Huldahl, ranked 377th in the world, began the day in a three-way tie for the lead with Nick Dougherty and Iganacio Garrido.
And he moved clear of his rivals by picking up shots at the third and eighth during a front-nine of 34.
The Dane consolidated his advantage with consecutive birdies to start his inward half.
Fasth charge
He came under pressure from Fasth, who had moved into contention with birdies at the sixth and ninth followed by an eagle at the par-five 11th.
The Swede, without a victory since 2007, moved into a share of the lead after draining further birdies at the 13th and 15th.
But he bogeyed the 16th and 17th to fall back and, despite a birdie at the 18th to complete a round of 66, had to settle for second place on eight-under.
Garrido finished third after a closing 69 gave him an overall total of seven-under-par.
The Spaniard had also been in the hunt on the back nine before a double-bogey at the 16th effectively ended his victory hopes.
Dougherty's challenge had earlier been derailed by a run of three bogeys in four holes from the fifth and the Liverpool golfer eventually signed for a eight-over 79 and a tie for 37th at three-over-par.
Ramsay woe
Halfway leader Richie Ramsay, meanwhile, finished tied 10th, but it was a weekend the Scot will not forget in a hurry.
After two-hour talks with officials late on Saturday night he escaped a two stroke penalty over an incident on the eighth when he pressed down ground behind his ball in testing for casual water, but this morning had his par five on the last turned into a six because of the way he took relief on the fairway there.
"I didn't sleep because I was concerned about what people might think and my head was in a bit of a spin," said the Tour rookie, who during his US Amateur victory three years ago lost two holes over rules matters.
"A lot of things go through your head, but all I can do is tell the truth.
"That's what golf is about - honesty and etiquette. Being up most of the night it wasn't the easiest thing to come out and play. I just need to sit down now, have a rest and clear my head."
Tour chief referee John Paramor, shaking his head in disbelief when the second incident happened, said of the first: "He now knows that's not the way to go about it.
"If he's absolutely positive he did not improve his area of swing then I can't impose a penalty on him based on what I've seen. I must have looked at it about 20 times on television, but we had only one camera angle."
Focal points at the start of the week were Ryder Cup captains Colin Montgomerie and Corey Pavin, but they finished 38th and 43rd respectively on three and four-over.
