European Tour: England's Paul Broadhurst birdied the final hole to retain his Algarve Open de Portugal Caixa Geral de Depositos title by a shot from compatriot Anthony Wall after a thrilling final round at Le Meridien Penina Golf and Resort yesterday.

Broadhurst closed out the defence of his title with a brilliant five-under-par 67 to total 17 under par 271.

The victory, Broadhurst's sixth European Tour title, gives the 40-year-old a chance of playing in his second Ryder Cup, 15 years after his sole appearance. He has moved to eighth on the European Ryder Cup List.

Broadhurst said: "When I was standing on the 18th tee, I thought to myself that I would never have a better chance of winning a tournament. I got a decent lie for my approach and was confident of getting it to within six feet."

Wall had a third successive 67, with Andres Romero of Argentina finishing third on 15 under.

Broadhurst stormed to the turn in 30 with five birdies in the first seven holes, opted for the driver from the final tee and hit a fine shot to the left-hand side of the fairway.

He pulled his second, however, which finished on a grassy bank above the green to the left.

But a majestic chip rolled up two feet from the pin and Wall, munching on an apple, returned to the clubhouse and admitted defeat.

Broadhurst said: "All day I was thinking to myself, just play, and don't be concerned about leading the field. The wind was doing all sort of tricks but I didn't really hit a bad shot until the 13th."

An eagle at the fifth and a birdie at the next saw Wall gain some momentum. Ranked 97th on the European Tour, he kept his nerve when the heat was on. He chalked up birdies at three of the last four holes to set a clubhouse target of 16 under par.

It was not to be for Wall but finishing runner-up will do wonders for his confidence after he withdrew from his last tournament in Indonesia because of the searing humidity.

Gary Murphy and Peter Lawrie both finished on five-under-par 283. Murphy shot a final round of 70 while Lawrie will be disappointed after shooting a three-over-par 75. Michael Hoey also lost ground with a final round of 76 which saw him finished two-under-par 286.

Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam, who missed the cut in his first three events, posted a second successive round of 69 to finish six-under-par 282.