Rocco Forte Open 2017: Alvaro Quiros Beats Zander Lombard in Tense Play-off

Alvaro Quiros beat Zander Lombard in a tense play-off on Sunday to win the Rocco Forte Open in Sicily.

The day started with Quiros five shots ahead, and he moved seven clear of the South African, but a late collapse saw him finish on two over for the day, while Lombard finished three under to force a play-off having tied at 14 under, though the Spaniard held his nerve to win.

The winner will receive a payout of €166,660, per the European Tour's official website, while the runner-up will take home €111,110

Here is how the leaderboard stood at the close of play:

Player	To Par (Sunday Score)
Alvaro Quiros*	-14 (73)
Zander Lombard	-14 (68)
Haotong Li	-13 (66)
Pep Angles	-12 (69)
Marcus Fraser	-11 (67)
Jason Scrivener	-11 (67)
David Horsey	-10 (70)
Marcel Siem	-9 (68)
Mark Foster	-9 (69)
Julien Guerrier	-9 (70)

*Won the play-off.

Sunday Recap

Quiros' victory looked assured after he made an electric start on Sunday, having already started well clear of his closest rival.

He birdied the second before picking up another shot at the fourth, courtesy of a superb approach shot to within five feet, per the European Tour:

The Spaniard added another on the following hole:

A long uphill putt on the sixth extended his lead to seven shots, though a bogey at the eighth and an excellent front nine score of 32 for Lombard cut that down to four with nine holes remaining.

Three bogeys cancelled out two birdies for Lombard on the back nine and cut his final score for the day to three under, but a disastrous showing from his opponent put them level heading into the final hole:

Indeed, after opening the back nine with a bogey at the 10th, Quiros dropped a further four shots in three holes at the 15th, 16th and 17th.

He regained his composure to salvage a par on the last hole and force the play-off, however:

The pair halved the first play-off hole, but a par was enough for Quiros to secure his first European Tour win since 2011.