Matthieu Pavon held off an early rally by Jon Rahm and a late charge by Marcel Siem to claim a four-shot victory at the Spanish Open.

The Frenchman closed with a 7-under 64 to finish on 23 under in an emotional wire-to-wire victory in his grandfather’s native city, and in a country where his father once played pro soccer.

“He is up there, so I think he will be very proud of me,” said Pavon, pausing to wipe away tears. “A part of my heart is here in Spain.

“My grandfather was from here, lived in France because of [former dictator Gen. Francisco] Franco, and I just really thought about him on the course today and it was really hard to keep the tears inside, but now I can just let them go a little bit.”

Pavon’s final round included seven birdies and no bogeys. He dropped only 3 shots all week at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.

“It was a very long wait,” said Pavon. “Seven years on tour, so that was a long wait. But it really was worth it. Managing my emotions the last two days was a very big accomplishment for me.”

Zander Lombard (64) was four shots off the pace at 19 under, while Nathan Kimsey (67) was five back, good for solo third.

The European tour stays in Spain with the upcoming Andalucia Masters.

Final Top 10: Spanish Open

POS-PLAYER-SCORE(Final Rd)
1. Matthieu Pavon -23 (-7)
2. Zander Lombard -19 (-7)
3. Nathan Kimsey -18 (-4)
4. Marcel Siem -17 (-10)
4. Fabrizio Zanotti -17 (-7)
6. Richard Mansell -15 (-6)
6. Dan Bradbury -15 (-5)
6. Julien Guerrier -15 (-4)
9. Jon Rahm -14 (-7)
9. Daniel Hillier -14 (-5)
9. Ewen Ferguson -14 (-5)
9. Kalle Samooja -14 (-4)
9. Marcus Helligkilde -14 (-3)
9. Romain Langasque -14 (-2)
9. Mike Lorenzo-Vera -14 (-2)
9. Alfredo Garcia-Heredia -14 (-2)