South Africa's Michael Hollick eagles final hole to claim his first European tour victory

MUNICH — South African Michael Hollick eagled the final hole to defeat countryman Hennie Du Plessis and win the BMW International Open for his first European tour victory on Sunday.

The 39-year-old Hollick also birdied the 17th hole for a final-round 5-under 67, ending at 18 under for the tournament.

“I didn't really know what the scores were,” Hollick said. “I hit two perfect five irons on 17th and 18th, so couldn't have asked for much more, really.”

Hollick had bogeyed the 16th and Du Plessis was two shots clear at the top coming into the 17th, but a bogey-par finish kept him at 17 under for the tournament.

Hollick, in his rookie season in the DP World Tour, said that four years ago he had “put the clubs in the cabinet” and started coaching for a while.

“It's amazing, honestly, just given myself and my family such a good opportunity,” Hollick said.