England’s Marcus Armitage captured his maiden European Tour title on Monday with a two-stroke victory at the Porsche European Open in Germany.
The 33-year-old Armitage, who jumped for No. 190 to 121 in the OWGR, carded a final-round, 7-under 65 in the 54-hole event, which was shortened and changed to June 5-7 due to pandemic travel restrictions. The win also earned Armitage a spot in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, as the Hamburg event was the third in a three-tournament qualifying series based on aggregate Race to Dubai points. He started the final round four shots behind leaders Matthew Southgate and Maverick Antcliff, and Armitage quickly made up ground with two birdies in his first three holes. “It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Armitage, who secured his first win in his 71st European Tour start. “It’s a new feeling I suppose. … When I had a practice round the other day, I’ve never lost so many balls in a practice round in my life. To be (standing) here being Porsche European Open champion is pretty cool.” Armitage, who won a Challenge Tour event in 2016, has made seven cuts in 10 starts to kick off 2021 and has three other top-10 finishes on the season including a T-8 at the Made in HimmerLand in his second-to-last start.