Madeira a piece of cake for Vancsik

Four months after surviving the European Tour’s qualifying school by the skin of his teeth, Argentina's Daniel Vancsik today became the circuit’s latest first-time winner.

The 30-year-old won the Madeira Islands Open by a massive seven strokes, a closing 68 giving him the €117,000 first prize with an 18-under-par total of 270.

Joint second were two of the most experienced players in the field, 47-year-old South African David Frost and 44-year-old Spaniard Santiago Luna, winner of the title in 1995.

Vancsik began the final day four clear and five birdies in a front nine 32 effectively settled the issue.

In contrast, Dane Mads Vibe-Hastrup and Frenchman Christian Cevaer, second and third overnight, went out in 39 and 38.

Vancsik’s victory is the fourth in a row on the Tour by a player who had not previously won. South African Anton Haig took the Johnnie Walker Classic in Thailand, China’s Lian Wen-chong the Singapore Masters and Thai Chapchai Nirat the TCL Classic in China.

In his rookie season last year Vancsik did not have a single top-10 finish in 25 starts, and he missed the halfway cut in 15 of them.

Back to the qualifying school he had to go and he regained his card with not a single shot to spare after six gruelling rounds over eight days.

Now he is exempt on Tour for the next two seasons after a superb performance at Santo da Serra.

Frost, playing on a sponsor’s invitation, matched Vancsik’s closing 68, while Luna, who has had to return to the qualifying school the last two years to extend a career that began in 1982, would have been second on his own but for a bogey at the short 17th in his 69.

Vibe-Hastrup and Cevaer fell back into a tie for fourth with Scot Euan Little.

Ireland's David Higgins finished in 54th spot on three over, while Gary Murphy finished on par.