Mackenzie's win pays off overdraft

England's Malcolm Mackenzie revealed his first European Tour title at the French Open helped wipe out his bank overdraft.

Mackenzie claimed a one-shot victory over South African Trevor Immelman for his first success in 509 attempts.

The first prize of £205,795 (€329,394) was almost seven times Mackenzie's previous biggest cheque on tour, dwarfing the £30,071 (€48,131) he earned at the Open championship in 1992.

"It feels wonderful," said Mackenzie. "It's taken 20 years to get here and I'm very, very happy.

"I'm delighted for my family who have supported me through thick and thin, all my supporters, and I can say I have done it at last.

"I was struggling financially and was overdrawn at the bank before this week. I was confident I could get out of trouble but never dreamed of this. It's worth all the 20 years of hard work.

"The bank manager will be very happy and so will my wife, she has wanted an extension for years and now it looks like she'll get one."

Three dropped shots in a row at the 15th, 16th and 17th meant Mackenzie was tied with Immelmann but he birdied the last to seal victory.

"I thought I was going to mess up the last hole to be honest. I thought I was losing it altogether.

"We weren't sure what we needed but presumed Trevor had made par because we didn't hear any big cheer. We discussed the shot, I let loose and smashed the best two-iron I have ever hit to 15 feet."