Adrian Otaegui claims four-shot victory at Scottish Championship
Spaniard secures third European Tour title and first stroke play win after shooting 63 in final round at Fairmont St Andrews
By Ali Stafford
Last Updated: 18/10/20 6:06pm
Adrian Otaegui secured his third European Tour title and first stroke play victory with an impressive four-shot win at the Scottish Championship presented by AXA.
Final leaderboard
Otaegui fired 10 birdies on his way to a joint-low round-of-the-day 63 at Fairmont St Andrews and ended the week on 23 under, earning the Spaniard a first worldwide victory since the 2018 Belgian Knockout.
Overnight-leader Matt Wallace had to settle for second place after a one-under 71, with Scottish Open champion Aaron Rai six off the pace in third after ending his week with a bogey-free 66.
"I'm very happy to win here in Scotland, the home of golf, next to St Andrews," Otaegui said. "It feels like a very special win for me.
"Stroke play is my favourite way of golf, I think it's the proper way. You have to play very solidly and very consistently all four rounds, which I think I did. I'm very happy to be able to win stroke play as well, my third win on the European Tour. I have no words."
Otaegui went into the final round four strokes back from Wallace but quickly halved the deficit by holing a 25-foot birdie putt at the first, where Wallace made bogey after having to pitch back into play from behind a wall.
Wallace picked up a shot at the fourth but saw his lead reduced further when Otaegui followed a long-range birdie at the fifth by getting up and down from off the driveable seventh green to add another birdie.
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland
A two-shot swing at the par-three eighth saw Otaegui fire his tee shot to six feet on his way to another birdie and Wallace make bogey after getting a plugged lie in a bunker, with both players then picking up a shot at the par-five next.
They both started the back nine with a bogey, only for Otaegui to go inches away from a hole-in-one at the par-three next and match Wallace's birdie at the 12th to move two ahead.
Otaegui holed a monster putt from the rough off the 13th green and picked another shot at the 15th, before extending his winning margin by adding a 10th birdie of the day at the par-five last.
Garrick Porteous dropped three shots over his final three holes to slip into tied-fourth alongside Chris Paisley, while Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington and former world No 1 Lee Westwood both ended 10 strokes back in a share of 14th.
