HILVERSUM, September 11, 2011 (AFP) - Englishman Simon Dyson won the Dutch Open for the third time in six years here on Sunday after shooting a fine final round of four under par 66.
The 33-year-old - who joins such greats as Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer in winning the title three times - edged out compatriot David Lynn by a stroke.
Northern Ireland's US Open champion Rory McIlroy shot a 68 to take third spot while world number two Lee Westwood shot a 66 like Dyson to jump from 18th spot to fifth.
Dyson said it meant a lot to have his name lined up alongside the late Ballesteros and Langer.
"I'm absolutely delighted to be on the same trophy as names like those two," said Dyson, who won the Irish Open earlier this season.
"It's something special, a dream come true really. To win any title once is tough, but to win it three times is a fantastic feeling.
"I started a bit shakily - my timing was just a little bit off - but after my bogey on 11 I played pretty flawless golf."
Dyson did brilliantly to stave off McIlroy's challenge as the exuberant 22-year-old fired in three early birdies but failed to build on that and his two birdies on the last two holes were too little too late.
However, McIlroy was satisfied with his performance even though surprisingly it still leaves him without a win on the European Tour.
"It's not been a bad two weeks," said McIlroy, who finished third last weekend in the European Masters his first tournament since injuring his right wrist at the PGA Championship in August.
"To be able to give myself a chance when I didn't have my best stuff I was quite pleased, but I should have made more of that fast start.
Leading and selected scores after the fourth and final round of the Dutch Open here on Sunday (GBR/IRL unless stated, par 70):
268 - Simon Dyson 65-66-71-66
269 - David Lynn 67-66-68-68
270 - Rory McIlroy 70-65-68-67
271 - Gary Orr 68-66-66-71
272 - Lee Westwood 70-66-70-66
273 - James Kingston (RSA) 66-68-66-73, Ross Fisher 66-74-67-66, Joost Luiten (NED) 73-67-64-69, David Horsey 69-69-66-69, Paul McGinley 70-68-64-71, Jose Manuel Lara (ESP) 68-69-68-68
274 - Robert Jan Derksen (NED) 68-69-69-68, Marcel Siem (GER) 65-67-73-69, Victor Dubuisson (FRA) 70-69-67-68, James Morrison 71-67-72-64
275 - Richie Ramsay 70-65-69-71, Mikko Korhonen (FIN) 71-69-69-66, Rhys Davies 67-69-69-70, Seve Benson 70-70-70-65, Simon Wakefield 68-71-67-69, Johan Edfors (SWE) 66-70-70-69, Paul Lawrie 71-68-68-68, Niclas Fasth (SWE) 70-67-65-73, Michael Jonzon (SWE) 70-68-70-67
Selected:
276 - Shiv Kapur (IND) 66-67-73-70, Ricardo Gonzalez (ARG) 71-65-72-68
277 - Anthony Kang (USA) 71-64-71-71, Thomas Aiken (RSA) 70-67-72-68,
279 - Brett Rumford (AUS) 68-71-72-68
285 - Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 70-67-74-74