Munich: Shiv Kapur endured a roller-coaster round with a one-under 71 to sign off tied 53rd even as veteran Ernie Els completed a stunning a wire-to-wire win at the BMW International Open here Sunday.
Kapur, who was in top-20 after two rounds at five-under ended with a miserable weekend with rounds of 75 and 71. The reigning Open champion Els (69) held off the challenges of Thomas Bjrn (69) and Alexander Levy (71) to claim his 28th European Tour International Schedule victory in his 282nd European Tour event.
He also became the first South African to win the BMW International Open. Kapur who has ruined his chances of making a bid with a three-over 75 in the third round, also messed his front nine on Sunday. He bogeyed the third and triple bogeyed the par-5 sixth.
A birdie on ninth was small consolation, and then back to back birdies on 11th and 12th acted like a balm. But there was another bogey on 14th. An eagle-2 on 16th and a closing birdie on 18th ensured he was under par for the day, but the weekend was really not very profitable for Kapur, who is trying to win back his playing rights for 2014.
Veterans Els and Bjrn entered the home stretch tied for the lead. Both players were 17 under par with six holes remaining at Golfclub Mnchen Eichenried, with Levy only a shot further back. Bjorn faltered with a double bogey on par-4 14th and that messed up his chances. Meanwhile, Levy who had reached 17-under to tie with Els by the 14th, bogeyed the 15th and 17th holes.
Els was the steadiest, parring all the way from 12th to 17th to stay at 17-under, at which point he was one clear of Bjorn and Levy. Levy birdied the final hole to get back to 16-under and Bjorn playing with Els also birdied the last to finish at 17-under. Then Els sealed his title with a birdie of his own on 18th to finish at 18-under.
Bjrn had made the first move of the day with a hat-trick of birdies from the third a 20 foot putt at the fourth giving him the outright lead. Els responded with three gains in four holes from the fifth, but both the South African and playing partner Bjrn dropped shots at the long 11th. That allowed French rookie Levy to lead after an outward 33.
However, the Qualifying School graduate bogeyed the tenth and 12th to fall one behind Els, who was joined by Bjrn when the 13-time European Tour winner birdied the short 12th. Bjrn hooked his drive left into thick rough at the 14th and could only chip out onto the fairway, then sliced his approach a good 40 yards right and double bogeyed. That left Els one clear as Levy followed a birdie at the 13th with a bogey at the 15th.
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