Costantino Rocca made an 11th hour challenge for a fourth Ryder Cup appearance when he won the inaugural West of Ireland Classic at Galway Bay Golf and Country Club Hotel.
The Italian, who represented Europe in 1993, 95 and 97, is desperate to play at Brookline next month, and four sub-par rounds earned him the title with a 12 under par total of 276.
Rocca finished two strokes clear of another Ryder Cup hopeful, Padraig Harrington, whose chance of victory disappeared when he drove out of bounds at the 70th hole.
Victory earned Rocca £41,664, but far more important than that were the 583 Ryder Cup points he collected to move from 24th to 17th in the qualifying table ahead of the final counting event, the BMW International Open in Munich this week.
Harrington added 383 points to his tally after finishing on a 10 under par total of 278, and he moved into 11th position – just outside the automatic qualifying zone – at least temporarily with the US PGA still awaiting completion in Medinah.
Winning was exactly what Rocca had on his mind all week. He had arrived in Ireland as a late invitee in order to make a final stab at qualifying. Afterwards He admitted: “I got the job done.
“I felt good about my game. That was important – not to think about winning but just to play good and go under par every day, which I did. Now there is only one thing I need and that is another win in Munich. Not second place.
“If Mark James thinks my game can help the team then I’m here and available if I don’t qualify. I would be happy to play if he needs me.”
Rocca holed a 35 footer at the last just to emphasise his authority, while Harrington, who shot a closing 72, was left to rue the bogey at the 16th after his drive out of bounds. He said: “That was obviously disappointing. I don’t think it was destined to be”.
Paul Broadhurst (68), Gary Evans (72) and Des Smyth (71) all finished tied for third on 279, and Smyth was yet another Irishman regretting one errant shot. He drove into water at the eighth and took a double bogey to lose the chance to be a tournament winner at the age of 46.
