Spain’s Rafael Cabrera Bello shot a European Tour record-equalling 60 to come from eight behind and win the Austrian Open in Vienna today. The 25-year-old even had a chance on the final green to record the circuit’s first-ever 59, but just missed a 30-foot eagle putt.
After tapping in for his 11th birdie he was two in front of overnight leader Benn Barham. The Englishman then birdied the 16th, but missed a 18-footer on the last to finish one behind.
Just the 13th player to shoot 60 — Darren Clarke has done it twice — he was also only the third to achieve it on the final day and win.
Cabrera Bello’s first Tour win came with a 20-under-par total of 264 and earned him €166,660.
“It’s just amazing — I played the best golf of my life and I can’t believe it,” said Cabrera Bello, who had missed eight of his previous 10 halfway cuts and had never scored lower than 64 on Tour.
“I was so far back I wasn’t thinking about winning. I just tried to play a shot at a time and today it worked out really, really good.”
A hat-trick of birdies from the third and then four in a row from the eighth brought him into the joint lead with Barham, who had been three clear of the field overnight.
The Kent golfer did not manage a single birdie in his first 10 holes, but responded each time when Cabrera Bello picked up further strokes on the 13th and 14th.
Barham then found himself two behind as the Canary Islander — fourth in the 2002 Spanish Open as a 17-year-old amateur — found the target again from 10 feet at the 16th and two-putted the par five last to reach 20 under par.
Needing to win to secure his card for next season, Barham still had a good chance when he made a 12-footer on the 16th, but a drive into the rough at the last was a costly error.
Soren Hansen continued his rise in the Race to Dubai standings as he finished alone in third spot on 17 under after a final round of 68.
Damien McGrane finished in a tie for tenth spot after he closed with a third successive round of 67 for 12 under, one shot ahead of Gary Murphy, who posted a 66.
FINAL SCORES
(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 71):
264Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 71 67 66 60
265Benn Barham 63 66 67 69
267Soren Hansen (Den) 67 67 65 68
269Richard Bland 68 70 65 66
270Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 69 67 65 69
271Richard Green (Aus) 65 66 69 71, Pablo Martin (Spa) 66 68 70 67, Simon Wakefield 68 70 67 66, Seve Benson 69 68 68 66
272
Damien McGrane71 67 67 67, David Dixon 68 67 71 66, David Horsey 67 67 71 67, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 68 65 71 68
273Brett Rumford (Aus) 64 71 68 70,
Gary Murphy68 67 72 66, Alex Cejka (Ger) 69 68 71 65
274Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 65 70 69 70, Chris Gaunt (Aus) 66 67 72 69, Joost Luiten (Ned) 67 67 76 64, Markus Brier (Aut) 68 67 69 70
275David Drysdale 69 68 67 71, Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 66 69 70 70, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 69 68 69 69, Marc Warren 68 68 71 68, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 67 68 73 67
276Marco Ruiz (Par) 70 68 70 68, Scott Drummond 64 68 72 72, David Lynn 67 68 72 69, Bradley Dredge 72 64 70 70
277Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 66 74 69 68, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 67 68 72 70, David Howell 69 69 66 73, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 69 70 68 70, Phillip Archer 65 71 75 66, Inder Van Weerelt (Ned) 72 66 68 71, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 71 68 69 69, Mark Foster 65 68 75 69, Ross McGowan 67 70 74 66
278Matthew Cort 68 68 69 73, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 69 69 70 70, Steven O'Hara 69 71 74 64, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 67 71 70 70, Gary Lockerbie 68 71 71 68, Stephen Dodd 71 68 71 68, Paul Lawrie 68 70 71 69, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 70 69 71 68, Gregory Havret (Fra) 69 67 72 70, Thomas Levet (Fra) 68 70 70 70
279Wil Besseling (Ned) 68 67 74 70, Alan McLean 72 67 72 68, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 70 67 70 72, Marc Cayeux (Zim) 71 67 70 71
280Callum Macaulay 66 74 68 72
281Alexandre Rocha (Bra) 70 70 74 67, Richie Ramsay 72 68 72 69, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 69 70 71 71
282Iain Pyman 70 65 71 76, Lee Slattery 67 73 70 72
283Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 69 69 74
284Sam Walker 72 68 71 73
285Alessandro Tadini (Ita) 68 70 72 75
286Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice) 73 66 73 74, Cesar Monasterio (Arg) 71 68 73 74
287Ulrich Van Den Berg (Rsa) 72 68 72 75
288Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 68 70 73 77
295Lukas Nemecz (Aut) 71 68 82 74
