MONZA, Italy – Rikard Karlberg of Sweden beat Martin Kaymer in a playoff to win the Italian Open on Sunday for his first European Tour victory.

On the second playoff hole at the par-4 18th, Karlberg sunk a birdie putt following an impressive second shot out of the rough.

That came just after Kaymer missed his slightly longer putt.

“I don’t want to win on his mistake, I wanted to do a birdie,” Karlberg said. “To do it against Kaymer is incredible.”

Kaymer, who entered the final round with a share of the lead, also just missed long birdie butts on the 17th and 18th holes in regulation after having wasted a three-stroke lead.

The 247th-ranked Karlberg shot a 5-under 67 in the final round while Kaymer, the former top-ranked German, had a 2-under 70. They finished with a 19-under total of 269.

It’s been quite a stretch for Karlberg, who came out of qualifying school, recently got married, moved back to Sweden from Abu Dhabi and has twins on the way with his wife.

“A lot of things are happening this year,” he said.

Both Karlberg and Kaymer came away with pars from the opening playoff hole, also at the 18th.

Seven golfers finished one stroke back in a tie for third: Joakim Lagergren and Jens Fahrbring of Sweden, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Danny Willett of England, David Lipsky of the United States, Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark and Fabrizio Zanotti of Italy.

Kaymer made three bogeys in five holes on the back nine and required a birdie on the 16th to get alongside Karlberg, who crept up through the field and had three birdies on the final five holes.

“I didn’t think I had a shot,” Karlberg said. “But sometimes you get lucky and I got into a playoff.”

MONZA, Italy – Martin Kaymer opened with four straight birdies on his way to a 7-under 65 Saturday to grab a share of the lead after the third round of the Italian Open.

The former top-ranked German had his lone bogey on the fifth but added another four birdies to sit tied with Jens Fahrbring of Sweden and Frenchman Romain Wattel atop the leaderboard with a 17-under total of 199.

“I am looking forward to tomorrow – it will be a challenge to myself and a challenge to beat my opponents,” said Kaymer, who is looking for a first win since triumphing at last year’s U.S. Open. “I am up there with a chance to win on Sunday and that’s all you want at the end of the day.”

Fahrbring, who led overnight with Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark, had seven birdies but dropped three shots on his way to a 68.

Wattel had spent most of the day in the chasing pack and made the turn in 35, but a birdie on the 13th gave him a boost and he eagled the next hole before further gains on the 16th and 17th on his way to a 66.

The trio is two shots ahead of Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay (68), Bjerregaard (70) and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger (67).

Y.E. Yang hit a hole-in-one on the 143-yard 12th hole – the 42nd on The European Tour this season. Yang shot a 69 to sit tied for 41st, seven shots back.

MONZA, Italy – Lucas Bjerregaard of Finland and Jens Fahrbring of Sweden shared a two-shot lead Friday after the second round of the Italian Open at Golf Club Milano.

Fahrbring had nine birdies in his 8-under 64 to leave him at 13-under 131 at the halfway stage. He dropped a shot on the 13th, but birdied three of the next five holes.

“I am quite surprised where I am because I was not well at the start of this week,” said Fahrbring, who has never been top at a European Tour event. “Today was a little better in terms of how I felt, and perhaps being unwell helped calm me down and lowered my expectations.”

Bjerregaard made just two birdies in his opening nine but an eagle on the first spurred him to a 7-under 65.

“I didn’t play as well as I did yesterday, especially off the tee but I made some good par saves,” Bjerregaard said.

Overnight leader Nicolas Colsaerts got off to a blistering start on Thursday, posting eight straight birdies for a 63, but the Belgian dropped two shots in the opening five holes Friday and finished the round with a 70.

Colsaerts was two shots off the lead, along with Spain’s Pedro Oriol, Frenchman Romain Wattel and Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay.

Former top-ranked Martin Kaymer was tied on seventh, three shots off the lead, after more than making up for a bogey on the 12th with an eagle and five birdies for a 6-under 66.

Kaymer called his round “strange”, saying he had fewer chances “but I shot a better score.”

MONZA, Italy – Nicolas Colsaerts matched the European Tour record of eight birdies in a row Thursday on his way to an opening-round 9-under 63 to take the clubhouse lead at the Italian Open.

The Belgian made a solid start on the back nine, parring his first four holes before five consecutive birdies from the 14th to the 18th saw him make the turn in 31.

Colsaerts, who is ranked 218th, also birdied the next three but then narrowly missed from 20 feet on the fourth. The European Tour said Colsaerts was the 11th player to make eight straight birdies but that he won’t officially be given a share of the record as the tournament was using preferred lies.

“It all felt pretty easy to be fair,” Colsaerts said. “We all know what it’s like when you get on fire and you keep going. I didn’t know how many it was, they were just coming. I stopped (counting) at six and it kept going for a while which was good. … I was waiting for a round like this where everything clicks together.”

The 32-year-old Colsaerts, who is seeking his first win since the World Match Play Championship in 2012, had a two-shot lead over former champion Francesco Molinari and India’s Shiv Kapur.

Kristoffer Broberg was also on 65 after a late surge. The Swede was two under through 13 holes after two bogeys and four birdies but birdied the final five holes to move joint second.

Molinari’s last win also came in 2012, in the Spanish Open. He became the first home winner of the Italian Open since 1980 – as well as the youngest winner of the tournament – when he won in 2006.

“I have prepared well the last few weeks to get here in good form and it showed today,” the 32-year-old Molinari said. “It always gives me that extra motivation to play in front of my home crowd. I wish I could do it more often than once a year.”

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Thomas Pieters of Belgium won his second European Tour title Sunday, two weeks after his first, by shooting a 5-under 65 to win the KLM Open by one shot as Lee Slattery faltered on the final hole.

The 23-year-old Pieters, who won the Czech Masters on Aug. 30, parred the last five holes at the Kennemer Golf and Country Club to finish with a 19-under total of 261.

Slattery, the joint overnight leader who was trying to win back-to-back tournaments after taking last week’s Russian Open, had only one bogey all day – but it came on the 18th when a par would have forced a playoff with Pieters.

“I’m a bit surprised,” Pieters said after Slattery’s par putt slid just past the hole on the 18th. Now he is looking for a third win on tour.

“I was confident. I teed it up to win and I did it. Next time I’ll do the same,” he added.

Pieters carded four birdies on the front nine of the links course on the Dutch North Sea coast and made his fifth at the par-four 10th before giving back a shot on the next hole. But he retained his composure and birdied the 13th before pars on the remaining holes.

Slattery’s drive on the 18th missed the fairway and his chip only reached the edge of the green, from where he three-putted.

Eduardo De La Riva of Spain tied Slattery for second after a 63, one shot ahead of Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay (63).

American veteran Tom Watson shot his third consecutive 68 Sunday to finish at 7 under.

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Lee Slattery and Rafa Cabrera-Bello both shot a 7-under 63 Saturday to take the joint lead after the third round of the KLM Open on a low scoring day.

Cabrera-Bello was on track for a spectacular round after making six birdies and an eagle on the front nine, along with only his third bogey of the tournament, but the Spaniard could only manage a string of nine pars coming home.

“I sank a very long putt on the first but then I felt that really all the other birdies were pretty much just tap ins and even the bogey I had was a three putt from five feet so … it could have actually been better,” Cabrera-Bello said.

Slattery, who won last week’s Russian Open, also shot six birdies, an eagle and a bogey in his round as he sought his second consecutive European Tour victory. They had a 16-under total of 194, one shot ahead of Paul Lawrie, who was third after a 63.

“It’s like a dream come true at the minute,” Slattery said. “Going into last week with a lot of pressure on and winning. Then coming into this week with no pressure on really, just trying to play good golf again, it’s a fabulous feeling.”

Thomas Pieters was another shot back after a 62.

Wade Ormsby of Australia followed a double-bogey six on the 10th with a hole in one on the 169-yard 11th on his way to a 68 that left him tied for fifth with Mikko Ilonen and Morten Orum Madsen at 13 under.

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Soren Kjeldsen shot his second consecutive round of 64 on Friday to take the lead with a 12-under 128 at the halfway stage of the KLM Open.

The Dane shot a bogey-free round on another day of low scoring at the par-70 Kennemer Golf and Country Club. Kjeldsen is one shot ahead of Wade Ormsby of Australia – who followed his 61 on Thursday with a 68 – and England’s David Horsey (66).

Matthew Fitzpatrick left a birdie putt just short on his final hole to miss out by the narrowest of margins on the first 59 on the European Tour.

The 21-year-old Englishman started his round on the 10th tee and shot six birdies on the back nine then followed it up with four more on the front nine.

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Wade Ormsby blitzed the back nine on his way to a 9-under-par 61 at the KLM Open and joined Paul Lawrie in the first-round lead at the Kennemer Golf and Country Club on the Dutch North Sea coast on Thursday.

The Australian birdied six of the last seven holes, including 16, 17 and 18, to surge up the leaderboard.

“That’s the lowest score I’ve had in any round, let alone tournament golf,” Ormsby said. “I’ve worked pretty hard the last few weeks. I’ve had five weeks off back in Australia, and it’s nice to get back and on the front foot.”

Hours earlier, and playing the back nine first, 1999 British Open champion Lawrie made the most of benign conditions as he eagled the par-five 12th and birdied 16, 17 and 18, too.

“The 59 did cross my mind. I had a long putt on the seventh – my 16th – for eagle after a lovely three wood in there, and had that popped in there I would have only had to birdie one of the last two to make it,” Lawrie said. “But I’m very happy with 61.”

In the group behind Ormsby, Richard Bland of England also gave himself a chance of shooting the European Tour’s first 59. Bland was 8 under with the last three holes to play, but parred them to finish the round alone in second place.

“I hit a lot of good shots out there,” Bland said. “It’s always nice to make a good start. It wasn’t easy – we probably had a two-club wind most of the day.”

Dutch favorite Joost Luiten, the 2013 champion, was tied for fourth with four other players after 63s.

Tom Watson, who shot a hole in one in practice on Wednesday, didn’t manage another ace, but shot three birdies and two bogies on his way to a 1-under 69.

MOSCOW – Lee Slattery bounced back from an erratic start to shoot a 2-under 69 Sunday that was enough for a one-shot victory at the Russian Open.

The Englishman entered the final round with the lead but two bogeys on the front nine left him temporarily two shots behind Argentina’s Estanislao Goya. However, Slattery birdied three of his last eight holes, including a chip in from the rough on the 17th, while Goya bogeyed the 13th and 15th.

“That chip in was massive,” said Slattery, who narrowly missed out on a European Tour card for this season. “Having to ask a lot of promoters for invites, it’s been a difficult year. I forgot what it was like to write letters. I’ve written a lot this year and it’s just nice to be able to finish the year off like this with a win.”

Slattery finished with a 15-under total of 269 as he secured his second career European Tour win, and first since 2011.

Goya was second after a 68, with defending champion David Horsey of England (68) another shot back in third following a bogey-free round. Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey was one of four players to share fourth place on 12 under.

South African Jake Roos set a course record with an eight-under 63, hauling him up the leaderboard from 34th overnight to joint eighth. In damp conditions at the Skolkovo Golf Club, the start of play was delayed by two hours due to fog.

Golf has become increasingly popular in recent years with the Russian elite, and the tournament attracted a small but well-heeled crowd, some with bodyguards in tow.

Andrei Pavlov pleased the spectators by becoming the first Russian ever to make the cut at a European Tour event, but he could not keep up the same form for the final two rounds, finishing 71st on 13 over.

MOSCOW – English golfer Lee Slattery recovered from a double bogey to move into a two-shot lead after the third round of the Russian Open on Saturday.

After taking five shots on the par-three 11th, Slattery recovered with three birdies on the remaining holes to finish off a 4-under-par 67.

That left Slattery, who won his only European Tour event in 2011, on 13-under 200 going into the final day.

Scotland’s Craig Lee (66) and Argentina’s Estanislao Goya (67) shared second place at 11 under.

One shot behind in fourth was last year’s winner, David Horsey of England. He and Lee carded the best rounds of the day with 66s.