Vancsik in maiden win

Madeira Islands Open: Four months after surviving the European Tour's qualifying school by the skin of his teeth, Argentina's Daniel Vancsik yesterday 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 €79,360 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 Gary Murphy and David Higgins finished well down the field in 43rd and 54th places respectively, while defending champion Jean Van de Velde was 32nd.