EUROPEAN TOUR NEWS: CHRISTIAN CEVAER, 449th in the world and without a top-30 finish in his last 15 tournaments, overcame a star-studded field and one of the toughest holes in golf to be the shock winner of the European Open yesterday.

After an amazing weekend which saw no fewer than 45 changes of the lead, the 39-year-old, whose only previous Tour victory was the 2004 Spanish Open, beat England's Steve Webster, Scot Gary Orr and Spaniard Alvaro Quiros by a shot.

It was a disappointing day for Rory McIlroy. Joint third overnight, the Co Down player carded seven bogeys in his three-over par 75 yesterday to end the tournament on 285, three under par, and in 12th place on his own.

Peter Lawrie's closing 72 saw him finish on 289, two better than Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell, who ended with a second successive 74. Paul McGinley was a further shot back after a closing 73.

Cevaer's winning total of 281, seven under par, was 13 strokes more than Ross Fisher took on the same London Club course last year - and his 74 was the highest last round by a winner all season.

But while Webster and Quiros both became more victims of the 471-yard last when tied for the lead - both carved their drives into the crowd, with Quiros hitting spectators with his first and second shots - Cevaer kept his nerve.

During the week the par four played to an average of nearly 4.7, with 154 bogeys, 48 doubles and 26 sevens or worse, but Cevaer parred it the first two days, birdied it in the third round and finished with the par he needed.

"I'm not a long player, but I used my utility club and it worked out great," he said after being showered with champagne.

"I made a point that no matter what happened just enjoy my golf, enjoy my skills and hang in there."

He played the front nine in 39 and did not have a birdie until the long 15th, but the problems meant that it brought him back into a share of top spot.

And then three closing pars were good enough to give him the €343,000 first prize - easily the biggest of his 16-year professional career.

At 196th on the "Race to Dubai" money list entering the week he would have been delighted just to secure his card for next season, but now he has a five-year Tour exemption.

The victory will also lift Cevaer more than 300 places in the world.

For a while it looked as if Welshman Stephen Dodd, ranked 241st, might come from eight behind to win - two days after driving home thinking he had missed the cut. But after playing the first 16 holes in a brilliant six under Dodd bogeyed the last two and finished two behind in joint fifth with Chris Wood, the Bristol 21-year-old who as an amateur was fifth in the British Open last year, and Cevaer's joint overnight leader Jeev Milkha Singh.

Wood led on his own after birdies at the first and sixth, but covered the last 12 holes in three over.

With playing partner McIlroy falling back, Spaniard Jose Manuel Lara was the next with a chance of posting a challenging target. But he bogeyed the 16th and double-bogeyed the short 17th before Webster could not salvage a closing par from the thick rough and Quiros could not get up and down from over the green.

Orr, playing with Webster, came home in a fine 34, but he needed one more birdie to tie and could not find it.

World number four Sergio Garcia climbed from 47th to 13th with a closing 68, but was never in the hunt after going in the water on the 18th in the second and third rounds.

Colin Montgomerie found the lake for a closing triple bogey seven and with a 75 for five over finished only 55th.