Alexander Björk wins Volvo China Open

Sweden’s Alexander Björk fired a closing round of 65 to win the Volvo China Open by a single shot from Adrian Otaegui of Spain. It was Björk’s first European Tour victory.

Alexander Björk wins Volvo China Open

Alexander Björk began the final of the Volvo China Open at Topwin Golf & CC in Beijing a shot off the lead but he came out on top after a fine closing round of 65.

England’s Jordan Smith set the pace on Sunday with a brilliant final round of 64. That gave him the lead at 16-under-par with the leaders still out on course.

Björk joined Smith at the top of the board with a birdie on the 12th and he moved one clear after a further gain on the 15th.

Spaniard’s Jorge Campillo and Adrian Otaegui both reached 17-under to tie Björk but the Swede edged ahead again, reaching 18-under with a birdie on the 17th. He parred the last and was left to wait and see whether those following could match him.

2017 Paul Lawrie Match Play champion Otaegui, who three-putted the 17th, and England's Matt Wallace needed eagles on the final hole to tie Björk but neither were able to find them. Otaegui made a birdie to finish alone in second place with Jordan Smith, Wallace and Campillo tied for third.

Playing in his 44th European Tour event, Björk secured his maiden victory on the circuit.

"It's tough to describe the emotions," he said. "I'm really happy and really proud of myself the way I played today, it's probably one of the best rounds of golf I ever played, the best round in the situation. I made pretty much no mistakes today, I'm super happy. I've been striking the ball so well off the tee and also into the greens all week. It's been so solid, it's easy to play a round when the swing is there.”

With the win, Björk has moved to 25th on the Race to Dubai standings and has climbed into the top-75 on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark matched Jordan Smith’s low-round of the week 64 to finish alone in sixth place with South Korea’s Jinho Choi and Jeunghun Wang tied for seventh with Paul Dunne of Ireland and China’s Ashun Wu.

2015 champion Wu had a hole-in-one on the 13th hole en-route to his closing round of 67.

Volvo China Open Topwin Golf & CC, Beijing, China 26-29 April Purse: €3,000,000 Par: 72

1 Alexander Björk (Swe) 66 72 67 65 270 €433,333 2 Adrian Otaegui (Esp) 68 69 67 67 271 €288,889 T3 Jorge Campillo (Esp) 69 68 68 67 272 €134,333 T3 Jordan Smith (Eng) 69 69 70 64 272 €134,333 T3 Matt Wallace (Eng) 65 70 69 68 272 €134,333 6 Lucas Bjerregaard (Den) 70 73 66 64 273 €91,000 T7 Jinho Choi (Kor) 69 72 65 68 274 €63,310 T7 Paul Dunne (Ire) 71 68 67 68 274 €63,310 T7 Jeunghun Wang (Kor) 72 66 68 68 274 €63,310 T7 Ashun Wu (Chn) 70 71 66 67 274 €63,310

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage