Jacquelin wins in brutal conditions

Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin overcame strong winds and heavy rain to complete a wire-to-wire victory at the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai.

Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin shot a final round of 73 in Shanghai to win the second European Tour title of his career.

Jacquelin had been top of the leaderboard since day one and as many of his rivals fell back on Sunday he maintained his composure. He looked confident early on, completing the front nine in 33 but conditions became particularly tough on the back nine as the wind and rain picked up. Despite four bogeys coming home, a 73 was good enough for the Frenchman to take the title by two shots from Søren Kjeldsen.

In this co-sanctioned event, regular Asian Tour players Scott Hend and Simon Yates finished tied for third. Both found the final day conditions difficult, finishing with rounds of 74 and 75 respectively.

For the second consecutive week Ernie Els was unable to mount a serious challenge on Sunday. A late flurry of birdies on Saturday had brought him back into contention but a final round of 72 was only good enough for a share of fifth place.

Jacquelin?s win comes two seasons after he won the Open de Madrid on his 238th European Tour start. His second win earns him ?283,570 and he qualifies for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

BMW Asian Open, Shanghai - final standings

-10 R Jacquelin (Fra)

-8 S Kjeldsen (Den) S Hend (Aus)

-7 S Yates (Scot), S Hend (Aus), J Bäckström (Swe)

Paul joined Golf Monthly in 2006 in a junior role and has since worked as senior staff writer and now as technical editor. He writes equipment and instruction content and tests the vast majority of golf clubs that are introduced every year.