September 18, 2017
Romain Wattel shot a steady 2-under 69 Sunday to finish 15 under and win the KLM Open, the Frenchman's first victory in 187 tournaments on the European Tour.
Wattel, who posted a 7-under 64 to move into contention on Saturday, had four birdies and two bogeys in the final round and parred his final seven holes to close out his maiden win.
The 26-year-old Frenchman said he has been struggling for two years with his putter, but finally found his touch again this week.
''My putting was very, very good,'' he said, ''I knew that if I could get to the green in regulation I was fine.''
Overnight leader Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand blew his chance of victory by finding the water and shooting double bogeys on the 15th and 18th holes. He finished on 12 under in a five-way tie for ninth.
Aphibarnrat was in the middle of the fairway on the 18th, but dumped his second shot into the water as he attempted to reach the green in two. He slammed his club into the grass and hung his head as he walked after the ball.
Aphibarnrat's implosion on the 18th left Austin Connelly of Canada alone in second place after he shot his second consecutive round of 66 to finish one shot behind Wattel.
Six players, including Lee Westwood and fellow Briton Eddie Pepperell, tied for third at 13 under.
September 17, 2017
Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand birdied his last hole to card 5-under-par 66 and take the lead after the third round of the KLM Open on Saturday.
Kiradech birdied four of his first eight holes and went around in regulation pars until his final-hole birdie. His 14-under total gave him a one-shot lead over Romain Wattel of France, who posted a 7-under 64 to move to 13 under.
Wattel had to play nine holes of his rain-delayed second round in the morning before shooting seven birdies in a blemish-free third round at The Dutch.
French rookie Joel Stalter was third after a 2-under 69 took him to 12 under.
Lee Westwood birdied his final hole to finish the day two shots off the lead at 11 under, tied with Sebastian Heisele of Germany and Joakim Lagergren.
''I hit a lot of good putts that didn't go in,'' Westwood said. ''Hopefully they'll go in tomorrow.''
Earlier, defending champion Joost Luiten missed the cut by a single stroke when he missed a birdie putt on the 18th at the end of his rain-delayed second round.
September 16, 2017
Joel Stalter of France shot a 4-under 67 to take a one-stroke clubhouse lead at the KLM Open before bad light suspended play with nearly half the field still to complete their second rounds.
Stalter followed up his opening-round 65 to move to 10 under par on Friday and stay in contention for a first victory in his first year on the European Tour. He has already rolled in 14 birdies at The Dutch this week.
Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand was alone in second place after a 65. Former No. 1 Lee Westwood also shot 65, containing six birdies and no dropped shots, and was three shots back.
With Thursday's afternoon session wiped out by bad weather, the tournament was playing catch-up. Seventy players in the remaining field of 148 didn't finish their second rounds Friday.
Defending champion Joost Luiten was 2 under after 12 holes of his second round. He is currently tied for 82nd on 2 over par and fighting to make the weekend
September 15, 2017
Bernd Wiesberger and Richard Finch have shot 5-under-par 66s to share the clubhouse lead after a rain-shortened opening round at the KLM Open.
The leaders were among the early starters on Thursday and avoided the worst of the wind and driving rain that later flooded fairways and forced a suspension of play at the par-71 The Dutch course. The first round will resume early Friday.
Wiesberger says, ''The conditions were really tough out there and although I gave away a couple of easy shots I am really happy with the score and the way I played.''
The man who beat Wiesberger into second place at the KLM Open last year, Joost Luiten, also started early but could not master the tricky conditions and slumped to a 4-over 75 that will leave him struggling to make the cut on Friday.
''It will have to be better on the greens and off the tee,'' Luiten said after opening his round with four straight bogeys.
269 Romain Wattel (Fra) 69 67 64 69
269 Romain Wattel (Fra) 69 67 64 69
270 Austin Connelly (Can) 71 67 66 66
271 Joel Stalter (Fra) 65 67 69 70, Sebastian Heisele (Ger) 66 68 68 69, Justin Walters (Rsa) 72 67 65 67, Eddie Pepperell 69 68 69 65, George Coetzee (Rsa) 69 67 68 67, Lee Westwood 70 65 67 69
272 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Tha) 68 65 66 73, Matt Wallace 68 68 69 67, Chris Wood 70 69 68 65, Joakim Lagergren (Swe) 67 65 70 70, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 66 69 71 66
273 Paul Dunne 74 68 65 66, Carlos Pigem (Spa) 72 67 68 66
274 Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 70 68 69 67
275 Richard Finch 66 67 72 70, Matteo Manassero (Ita) 68 68 68 71, Clement Berardo (Fra) 69 72 67 67
276 Jason Scrivener (Aus) 70 68 70 68, Wil Besseling (Ned) 70 69 70 67, Duncan Stewart 71 68 70 67, Alexander Bjork (Swe) 73 65 73 65, Todd Sinnott (Aus) 68 73 68 67
277 Richie Ramsay 70 72 68 67, Mikko Ilonen (Fij) 69 70 68 70, Maximilian Kieffer (Ger) 69 69 72 67, Chris Hanson 68 71 68 70, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 74 68 66 69, Oliver Fisher 72 68 70 67
278 Ben Evans 72 69 67 70, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 72 68 67 71, Ross Fisher 73 68 68 69, Robert Dinwiddie 69 69 73 67, Ashun Wu (Cn) 67 68 71 72, Stuart Manley 71 68 68 71, Dylan Frittelli (Rsa) 70 69 69 70
279 Matthieu Pavon (Fra) 68 69 70 72, Damien Perrier (Fra) 69 70 69 71, David Horsey 76 66 68 69, Mikko Korhonen (Fij) 67 71 70 71, Pep Angles (Spa) 68 70 73 68, Daan Huizing (Ned) 69 71 72 67, Johan Carlsson (Swe) 75 67 67 70, Peter Hanson (Swe) 70 69 68 72, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 70 70 67 72, Thomas Detry (Bel) 75 66 68 70
280 Dean Burmester (Rsa) 77 65 68 70, Max Albertus (Ned) 69 70 73 68, Daniel Brooks 69 71 69 71, Jaco Ahlers (Rsa) 72 69 73 66, Jorge Campillo (Spa) 76 66 73 65, Adrian Otaegui (Spa) 71 71 70 68, Florian Fritsch (Ger) 71 70 68 71
281 Pontus Widegren (Swe) 68 72 69 72, Anthony Wall 70 69 74 68, Julian Suri (USA) 70 68 71 72, Padraig Harrington 72 70 70 69
282 Marc Warren 69 67 73 73
283 Ryan Fox (Nzl) 71 71 71 70, Ashley Chesters 70 70 73 70
284 Richard Bland 71 67 70 76, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 72 70 71 71, Graeme Storm 70 72 72 70
285 Jens Fahrbring (Swe) 69 73 70 73, Sam Brazel (Aus) 73 67 74 71
286 Paul Maddy 69 69 75 73, Johan Edfors (Swe) 68 74 72 72
288 Niclas Fasth (Swe) 69 72 73 74
289 Sebastien Gros (Fra) 75 66 74 74, Ralph Miller (Ned) 73 69 72 75
