Alejandro Cañizares completed a comprehensive wire-to-wire victory at the Trophée Hassan II to end an eight-year wait for a second European Tour title.
On the day that Solheim Cup hero Charley Hull registered her maiden victory on the Ladies European Tour in the Coupe Lalla Meryem, played at the neighbouring Golf de l’Océan, Cañizares doubled his haul of European Tour titles in emphatic fashion at Golf du Palais Royal.
Just as Marcel Siem did 12 months ago in Agadir, Cañizares led from the off with an opening 62 and completed a five shot win with a closing round of 70.
That gave the Spaniard a 19 under par total, with England’s Andy Sullivan storming home in 29 shots for a best-of-the-day 63 to claim second place.
Cañizares won on only his third European Tour start at the 2006 Russian Open, but has had to wait 199 events for win number two – during which time he has been a runner-up four times.
Victory completes an impressive run of results for the 31 year old, who has not missed a cut since September. That run that now stretches to 16 tournaments, and includes three other top-ten finishes.
Cañizares, whose father José Maria won five times on The European Tour, said: “It has been a great week, this is a very special moment for me. I have to thank everybody, especially my coaches who gave me a great lesson at the start of the week, and my caddie who really handled me well today.
“To get the win feels unbelievable. My first win was eight years ago so I’ve had to wait a long time for this, I had a few chances along the way but to finally get another one is magnificent.
“I wasn’t worried that the second win wouldn’t come, I thought if I kept working on it and kept my game on, it would come in the end. This is a great step for the rest of my career.”
Cañizares would have won by a greater margin were it not for a stroke of bad luck on the 18th, where his approach rolled back off the green and came to rest up against a clump of turf from a divot.
The World Number 141 could only advance the ball a few yards with his third shot, before it again rolled back down the slope almost to his feet.
From there, he fluffed his next pitch but at least allowed himself a wry smile, before eventually getting up and down for a double-bogey six.
In contrast, Sullivan finished with four consecutive birdies to record the highest finish of his fledgling European Tour career.
He said: “It’s just unbelievable, I got off to such a good start on the back nine, and I managed to keep it going. The wind was getting up and there were a few holes into the wind, but that finish was just surreal.
“Most of the putts were from within ten feet, so it’s not like I holed any bombs. It’s an unbelievable feeling to hit 63 on the last day, so I’m very, very happy.”
Sullivan’s compatriot Seve Benson birdied the 18th to claim a share of third place on 12 under with Sweden’s Magnus A Carlsson, who had completed a 68 by holing from off the green on the last for par after a left-handed escape shot from the trees.