Pulheim: Henrik Stenson sealed a second BMW International Open title in Germany on Sunday after recovering from a mid-round wobble to win by three shots.
The Swede went into the final round with a one-stroke lead from Dane Thorbjorn Olesen, and he finished strongly to reach 17-under par and hold off the chasing pack.
It is a 10th European Tour title for a player who is regarded by many peers and pundits as one of the best to have never won a major crown, and a first since his second World Tour Championship win two seasons ago in Dubai.
"It was hairy all the way, it was a tough one," Stenson, who also won the 2006 edition of this event, said.
"I had to dig deep to come back. I didn't play well on the front nine, made a couple of mistakes.
"I felt like I was starting to make a bit of a mess of it and then I came back and made the birdies on the par fives.
"I really feel like I played well in 2015 and I just couldn't get a trophy. It was a bit hard at times but you've just got to keep on trying and put yourself in position. I did that once again and this time I managed to go all the way."
When Stenson birdied the opening hole a runaway victory looked likely, but the world No.7 stuttered around the turn with three bogeys in five holes from the sixth.
Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat was joint fifth after hitting a 71 for 278, seven shots behind champion Stenson.
The result saw him move up to 48th from 52nd place in the world rankings and that is enough for him to earn a spot at this week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio which is for the top-50 players, among other qualifiers.
Thongchai Jaidee's ranking dropped a place to 57th after finishing 38th at the BMW event.
He will play in this week's French Open along with Prom Meesawat, who was 52nd in Germany. Bangkok post/afp