The Porsche European Open was there for the taking for Bryson DeChambeau Sunday.
Same for Patrick Reed.
DeChambeau entered the final round at the Green Eagle Golf Club tied for the lead with Richard McEvoy, a non-winner on the European Tour.
Both were 12-under through 54 and DeChambeau declared his confidence level high going into the final 18.
There were also high expectations for Reed, the only player in the field with a Masters title under his belt. Reed started just a shot back of the leaders at 11-under.
Unfortunately Sunday turned out to be the Horror In Hamburg for both Americans.
Things started out well enough for Reed, who birdied the third hole early in his day to claim a piece of the lead with DeChambeau and McEvoy. But as fast as he tied for the lead, Reed fell back with bogeys at the fourth and sixth holes and from there it would be nothing but mistakes. Reed suffered three more bogeys on the back nine and never saw another birdie on his way to a closing 76 and a tie for ninth at 11-under par.
DeChambeau should have been so fortunate.
He stayed tied with McEvoy through 10 holes, both were one-over and deadlocked at 11-under.
Five straight pars to start the back nine were good enough to keep DeChambeau in the lead after McEvoy suffered back-to-back bogeys at 12 and 13 and fell back to nine-under.
Then it all came crashing down for the American. He bogeyed 15 and 16 while McEvoy birdied 15 and parred 16. He was 10-under, a shot clear of DeChambeau but tied with amateur Allen John and two others, who were in at 10-under. McEvoy delivered a clutch birdie at 18 for the victory, DeChambeau floundered with a triple-bogey eight at the closing par five thanks to two balls in the water to finish with an embarrassing 78 that dropped him back to six-under and tied for 13th.
McEvoy’s closing birdie on the par five was hard-earned. He decided to lay up and his third left him with an unlikely birdie putt from 20 feet. He drained it.
“It’s incredible,” he said. “I’ve waited a long time, 17 years as a pro on and off the Tour. I’m absolutely over the moon. A lot of hard work, a lot of bad years, a lot of good years but it’s never quite happened and it was my time on that 18th green today. I fought hard, I believed, and even at the last I overpowered my caddie to lay it up to give myself the best opportunity to make birdie and I managed to do it.”
As for DeChambeau and Reed, this is one European Sunday they will want to forget.
Final Porsche European Open Results:
