Pablo Larrazabal beats Sergio Garcia in Munich
- Published
Pablo Larrazabal beat Sergio Garcia in a dramatic play-off to win the International Open in Munich.
It took five extra holes until Garcia three-putted to hand the title to Larrazabal.
The Spaniards had traded the lead throughout the final day, but Garcia's birdie on the 18th tied the pair at 16 under.
Garcia has been without a tournament win since November 2008 and has slumped to 64th in the world rankings.
But the former world number two has at least qualified for next month's Open Championship thanks to this result.
A seventh place finish at the US Open last week inspired hopes of a return to form, and his display in this tournament has seen that momentum continue.
A flurry of birdies on the sixth, seventh and eighth preceded two superb long-range putts to eagle the ninth and 11th and give him a two shot lead with seven holes left to play.
However, four bogeys in five holes saw him drop to second behind the eventual winner.
It remained that way until Garcia birdied the last to force Larrazabal back to the 18th tee for the first extra hole.
A stunning approach shot from Garcia applied the early pressure on Larrazabal, but the 28-year-old replied with an almost identical stroke.
The next hole, also on the 18th, saw Larrazabal gain the advantage thanks to his opponent's wayward tee shot, but Garcia dug out an impressive recovery from the rough to keep his hopes alive.
From there the play-off moved to the par three 12th where Garcia came agonisingly close to clinching the win - his 20ft putt from the fringe looked destined to drop but curled around the lip and out.
Garcia's putt on the next hole strayed wide to set up a very gettable opportunity from 14 feet for Larrazabal - but the Spaniard saw his effort drift to the right of the hole and spin away.
Back to the 18th again, and despite Garcia's putting heroics earlier in the day, his miss of a tricky downhill putt opened the door to Larrazabal's straightforward winner.
"Last week we lost my grandad. It's a victory for him," the champion said.
"Beating one of my heroes when I was growing up is just a dream - very emotional."
Further down the leaderboard, overnight leader Mark Foster never recovered after coming up short in the water on the fourth, ending tied for third at 14 under.
He shared third place with Scotland's Scott Jamieson - who carded a best-of-the-day 64 - Retief Goosen, George Coetzee and Joost Luiten.
England's Robert Coles put in a solid display including a crowd-pleasing unorthadox chop from heavy rough to save a double-bogey on the 17th. He finished his round three off the leaders at 13 under.
The final standings mean Larrazabal and Garcia have both qualified for the Open at Sandwich next month thanks to a mini-money list based on European tour events over the past month.
Germany's Martin Kaymer finished joint 18th, a result which means US Open champion Rory McIlroy rises to a career-high ranking of third.
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