Clydebank’s Scott Henry had to settle for a runners-up finish in the Madeira Islands Open for the second successive year as Roope Kakko became just the second Finnish winner on the European Tour.
Henry, who lost in a play-off a year ago, closed with a six-under 66 for a 21-under 267 but, on a day of spectacularly low scoring, that wasn’t good enough to catch the flying Finn who conjured a super 63 for a 264 and a three shot win.
Glasgow’s Andrew McArthur also fired a 63 as he barged up the field to claim third place. The Scottish duo are now well on course for a return to the main European Tour next year. Henry’s cheque for almost £47,000 in this dual-ranking contest propelled him from 73rd on the Challenge Tour rankings to sixth while McArthur is handily placed at fourth on the money list with the top 15 at the end of the campaign earning promotion to the top table.
Kakko, who burst into contention at the Clube De Golf do Santo da Serra on Saturday with a 64 to lie one shot behind leader Pontus Widegren at the 54-hole mark, continued his stunning weekend by going one better on Sunday.
He picked up four shots on the front nine - including three straight birdies from the fifth - and then kicked off the back nine with an eagle at the par-four 10th before collecting three more birdies en route to his nine-under-par round.
The triumph was Kakko's first on the European Tour, in his 85th event, and made him the second Finnish player to win on the European Tour - after Mikko Ilonen.
"I came here to try to win this event and change my career, so I'm over the moon to have done it,” he said. “There was a lot of pressure but I had some pretty good thoughts in me, so I was able to handle it. Sometimes it doesn't go the way you plan it but it all went my way today. This is definitely the best moment of my career.”
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