Tom Lewis produced the biggest 54-hole comeback of the European Tour’s season to win the Portugal Masters for the second time at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course.
The 27-year-old from Hertfordshire was one over par after his opening round of 72 on Thursday, and sat nine shots behind first round leader Lucas Herbert, but rounds of 63 and 61 meant he was just two behind the Australian heading into the final round in Vilamoura.
On Sunday it all came down to a three-way battle between Lewis, Herbert and Eddie Pepperell, with Lewis ultimately signing for a 66 to get to 22 under par and finish three shots clear of his two rivals.
Lewis, who won this event in 2011 in just his third start as a professional, and arrived this week in fine form, having won the Bridgestone Challenge on the Challenge Tour two weeks ago.
The last two holes proved pivotal, as Lewis found the water off the tee on the 17thand had to hole a 35-foot putt to save par, as a Pepperell bogey on the last made it a two-horse race.
Herbert then found water off the final tee on the way to a closing double-bogey to finish tied second alongside Pepperell at 19 under par and three shots behind Lewis.
Lewis said:“I’m so happy. It’s been a rough ride, but this week I played hard. I obviously got off to a bad start, so to finish the way I did was brilliant.I think this one means more than it did in 2011. The next win was always going to mean more because of how much I have worked for it.Hopefully I can push on now and keep the momentum up. I won’t be taking my foot as the gas now, I want to be moving forward all the time.”
Sergio Garcia warmed up for the Ryder Cup with a closing 65 to finish at 15 under par and tied with Ricardo Gouveia, Raphaël Jacquelin, Kim Koivu and Oliver Fisher, who grabbed headlines around the world after carding the European Tour’s first 59 during the second round.