BERLIN: Spain’s Adrian Otaegui grabbed his maiden European Tour title on Sunday with victory over home favourite Marcel Siem in the final of the Paul Lawrie Matchplay in Germany. The world number 262 has hit a fine run of form in the last two months, which he capped with a 2 & 1 win that was sealed with four holes in a row. German Siem, who beat Johan Carlsson in the semi-finals earlier on Sunday, dominated the front nine of the final as he stormed into a 3-up lead after only eight holes. Otaegui hit back with birdies on the par-five 10th and 11th holes, only to slip two behind with five to play. The 24-year-old, who closed out his last-four win over compatriot Alejandro Canizares with three straight holes, moved through the gears again in the closing stretch to stun Siem. Four birdies on the spin left his opponent helpless, and Otaegui wrapped up the title on the penultimate green. He followed six consecutive missed cuts with top-10 finishes at both the French Open and the European Open in July, and will now rise into the world’s top 200 for the first time. Swede Carlsson beat Canizares 3 & 2 in the third-place play-off. Published in Daily Times, August 21st , 2017.