Lagergren wins maiden title with playoff victory in Sicily

Joakim Lagergren defeated Mike Lorenzo-Vera in a play-off to win his maiden European Tour title at the Rocco Forte Sicilian Open.

Despite starting the day two shots behind Lorenzo-Vera, the 26-year-old made four birdies in his opening nine holes at the Verdura Golf Club to take a two shot lead at the turn. 

An error at the 14th from Lagergren opened the door for the Frenchman, whose birdie on the 17th secured his place in the playoff. But it was Lagergren who would take advantage, holing an eight-footer for birdie to claim his first victory on the European Tour.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole career,” he said. “I’m so relieved and I’m so happy at the moment, I can’t describe it in words. I’ve just been fighting so hard to get to here, it’s just awesome.

“When you’re just missing out a few times you really want to get that first win and it feels like you really need to get over that first step to then really continue and get more and more. This is a big step for me.”

For Lorenzo-Vera, it was his second runner-up finish in as many weeks, after losing the final of GolfSixes to Ireland last week. 

“What can I say? He made a birdie on the last and I didn’t really have a chance,” said an emotional Lorenzo-Vera. “It was the kind of day where I was a bit far from the pins so it was hard to score low for me. He took his chance better than me.

“I gave it a go, I tried my best, he did it better than me. Now I’m just going to have to work more to be able to finish the job.”

Andy Sullivan finished a shot back in a share of third alongside Lucas Herbert, who fired a joint-low round-of-the-week 63, with Lucas Bjerregaard ending the week in fifth spot.