Steven Brown shot a final-day 66 to secure his maiden European Tour title with a one-stroke win at the Portugal Masters.

Brown started Sunday’s finale at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course three shots back of overnight leader Brandon Stone, but a bogey-free final card comprised of 14 pars, three birdies and one eagle had the Englishman at 17-under par, one clear of South Africans Stone (70) and Justin Walters (66), who tied for second on 16-under par.

“You just never know with this game,” said Brown, who moved from 150th to 69th in the Race to Dubai and secures his spot in the Rolex Series’ Turkish Airlines Open, which is open to the top 70 ranked players.

“It’s crazy to think how well I’ve played the last month to how bad it was the first two thirds of the year. I never thought this was going to happen. I was just counting down the days until Tour School to get my game ready for that.”

Frenchman Adrien Saddier shot a 66 to secure solo-fourth place on 15-under par, one better than Englishman Chris Paisley (64) who rounded out the top-5 finishers in Portugal.

Final Scores: Top 5

Pos-Player-To Par (Final Rd)
1. Steven Brown -17 (-5)
2. Justin Walters -16 (-5)
2. Brandon Stone -16 (-1)
3. Adrien Saddier -15 (-5)
5. Chris Paisley -14 (-7)

Brown’s Winning Stats

Fairways: 36/56, 64.2% (13th)
Greens: 64/72, 88.8% (4th)
Putts Avg: 30 (38th)
Putts/GIR: 109/1.700 (27th)
Scores: 1 Eagle, 18 Birdies, 50 Pars, 3 Bogeys

Quotable

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!

“I like the fact I had to go for it and wasn’t trying for a good result. I had to seize the chance to win the tournament. That’s the difference, before I’ve thought ‘I’m up there and had a good week, that’s great’ this week it was do or bust. I can’t believe it.”
– Steven Brown, Portugal Masters Champion