From 449 to hero

Christian Cevaer of France emerged as the surprise winner of the 2009 European Open on Sunday, taking only the second European title of his career.

Nobody would have expected Cevaer, aged 39 and ranked 449th in the world, to beat the likes of Sergio Garcia and Angel Cabrera at the European Open.

However a determined showing by the Frenchman was enough to see him edge clear of a tightly clustered field, leaving Steve Webster, Gary Orr and Alvaro Quiro to share second place.

Cevaer finished the tournament with his score on a seven-under total of 28 to take the £300,000 prize for winning the tournament at the London Club in Kent.

“This is a fantastic day for me,” Cevaer told the BBC after his win. “I am ecstatic to come out on top. What a great surprise it was to see the big leaderboard when I was coming up the hill at the 18th and that I was the only guy left on seven under. I am proud to get the job done.”