ZANDVOORT, Netherlands -- Simon Dyson birdied the first playoff hole Sunday to defeat Richard Green and win the KLM Open.
Dyson closed with a 5-under 66, while Green posted a 6-under 65 in the final round as they finished at 14-under-par 270.
‘It feels fantastic. To win once is a great achievement, but to do it again in the same year, it just keeps getting better,’ said Dyson, who also claimed the Enjoy Jakarta HSBC Indonesia Open back in March. ‘It’s been a good year so far.’
Green, who made the cut on the number, closed with rounds of 62-65, but he was unable to come back and win.
The two went back to No. 18 at Kennemer Golf & Country Club for the playoff and Dyson and Green each found the fairway off the tee. Dyson dropped his approach eight feet from the cup, before Green knocked his second to 20 feet. Green’s birdie effort slid by the left edge and he tapped in for par.
Dyson stepped up and calmly drained his 8-footer for birdie and the win.
‘The shot I hit in I thought was going to spin,’ stated Dyson of his approach shot in the playoff. ‘I don’t mind downhill putts because I know I don’t have to rap it like an uphill putt, so I knew I’d just have to get it rolling.’
Third-round leader Damien McGrane closed with a 1-under 70 to end alone in third place at 13-under-par 271. Christian Cevaer was one stroke further back at minus-12 after a final-round 67.
Green flew up the leaderboard with a stellar front nine. He birdied three and four, before slipping to a bogey on No. 5.
The Australian birdied six and seven, then chipped in for birdie on the eighth to join McGrane in the lead at minus-12. Green also birdied the ninth to gain the lead, but faltered to a bogey on 10.
Dyson, meanwhile, opened with six consecutive pars. He sank a 10-foot birdie putt on seven, then birdied the ninth to make the turn at 11 under.
The Englishman drained a 12-foot birdie effort on the 15th to grab a share of the lead. Green then sank a 5-footer for birdie on 16 to move one ahead, but Dyson also birdied that hole to forge a tie for the lead at minus-13.
‘I just wanted to keep playing the way I was,’ said Dyson of his birdie run down the stretch. ‘I was hitting the ball good and I didn’t make a bogey in the final two rounds. I was giving myself a lot of chances. That putt on 15 was huge really. It was downhill, left to right. It was a nasty one. To judge that perfect the way I did gave the confidence going into 16 and 17.’
Green rolled in a 9-foot birdie putt on 17 before Dyson converted a 10-footer for birdie at the same hole. Both players parred the last and it was off to the playoff.
‘I feel pretty good. That’s as good a job as I could have done today,’ said Green before the playoff. ‘I gave myself that chance yesterday and I’m pretty pleased with this round.’
Garry Houston finished in fifth place at 11-under-par 273 after a 5-under 66 on Sunday. Peter Lawrie was one stroke further back after a closing 70.
David Lynn closed with a 7-under 64 to end in a tie for seventh. He ended alongside Anders Hansen, Andrew McLardy, Phillip Archer, Markus Brier and Alejandro Canizares at 9-under-par 275.
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