(Reuters) - Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano announced himself as the next big Spanish talent on The European Tour when he birdied the first play-off hole – the 18th - to beat Sweden's Henrik Stenson and claim the BMW Asian Open at the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club.
A sublime chip to within a foot of the pin laid the foundations for the 25 year old's victory in the co-sanctioned tournament between The European Tour and the Asian Tour after he and Stenson had finished tied on seven under par 281 after the 72 regulation holes.
The winner of The Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year on the 2005 European Tour watched as Stenson missed his birdie attempt from the fringe of the green, then held his nerve to claim a second Tour title after his maiden victory in last year’s KLM Open.
"It's been a great day, one I will always remember," said Fernandez-Castano, who finished second in the Volvo China Open last week and who has now moved up to 11th on The European Tour Order of Merit thanks to the first prize cheque of €247,810 (£171,330)
Eight-time European Tour Order of Merit winner Colin Montgomerie shared third place with Portugal's José-Filipe Lima on six-under par 282 after the pair carded respective final rounds of 68, while New Zealand's Mahal Pearce and Englishmen Paul Casey and Simon Dyson were a further shot back.
"When you see the leaderboard, all the players I've beaten today it's unbelievable," he added.
A beautiful chip-in from 30 yards for a birdie three at the 16th combined with a bogey for Stenson saw Fernandez-Castano top the leaderboard for the first time on a day when the lead changed hands umpteen times.
"It was one of those shots that you know as soon as you hit it you know it's going to be good," the Spaniard said. "I didn't expect it to be that good though."
Stenson, who had led after each of the first three rounds, was not finished yet, though, and birdied the 18th to claw his rival back and send the tournament into a sudden-death playoff.
Stenson, the highest ranked played on the Official World Golf Ranking at the start of the week, had looked to be cruising to his second tournament win of the season when he hit three successive birdies from the sixth to lead the chasing pack by three shots.
But disaster struck at the ninth, however, when his second shot hit a tree and sent his ball some 100 yards over the fairway and into a water hazard. After finding the green in five shots, the rattled Swede three-putted for a triple-bogey eight that wiped out his advantage over the five players sharing second.
Scenting the chance of victory, the players in the mix swapped the lead over the back nine but it was Fernandez, after parring his first 13 holes, who emerged to claim the lead.
The cool Spaniard had a birdie at the 14th in addition to his pitch-in at the 16th and finished with a two-under-par 70, a shot better than Stenson for the day.
The Swede said: “Obviously I am disappointed with the outcome but I am pretty happy with the way I kept on trying after making the triple bogey. You keep on trying and some days it is for you but some days it is not. Today it was not.”
