THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CASTELLON, Spain — Matteo Manassero found himself at a loss when it came to thinking of how to celebrate a record-setting victory.
The Italian became the youngest ever winner on the European Tour on Sunday, shooting a 4-under 67 to claim the Castello Masters by four strokes.
Manassero, who is 17 years, 188 days old, eclipsed the record of Danny Lee of New Zealand, who was 18 years, 113 days old when he won the Johnnie Walker Championship in 2008. Manassero had already become the youngest winner of the British Amateur Championship, capturing the title in 2009 as a 16-year-old.
This one came with a big payday — US$460,000.
"I am too young to have a drink, I am too young to drive so I will not be buying a car and I have not got a girlfriend who would like a present," he said.
"But this was my first chance to win a tournament, which I never thought would come so quickly and to do it is unbelievable. My first aim when I turned professional was to win enough money to keep my card for next year and I achieved that in September."
Manassero started the final round at the Club de Campo Del Mediterraneo two shots behind overnight leader Gary Boyd of England. He ended up finishing four shots ahead of Spain’s Ignacio Garrido, who shot a 68 to reach 12 under.
Boyd collapsed late in the final round — hitting three poor drives starting on the 15th hole and shooting 74. He slipped back into a share of third place.
Joost Luiten (68) of the Netherlands and Ireland’s Peter Lawrie (70) also finished with a share of third place at 11-under.
Jose Maria Olazabal’s attempt to overcome his chronic rheumatoid arthritis and play four rounds for the first time in 2010 was successful but proved to have a disappointing ending.
He had a series of bogeys in the final round and after handing in a 77 to the official recorder was disqualified for signing for a wrong score. It should have been 78.
"I feel happy to have played four rounds for the first time of the year," said Olazabal, who is favoured to be Europe’s next Ryder Cup captain. "The only pain is the way that I played today and what happened afterwards."