Nilsson wins Saint-Omer Open by record six strokes

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SAINT-OMER, France (AP) -- Overnight leader Christian Nilsson shot a solid, bogey-free 2-under 69 on Sunday to win his first European Tour title at the Saint-Omer Open.

"It's obviously a massive win for me, so it might take a while to realize just what it means," the 30-year-old Swede said. "I'm still in shock at the moment."

Nilsson, ranked 478th in the world, sank two birdies to finish with a 13-under 271, ensuring there would be no repeat of his disappointment last year. Nilsson had also started the final round in 2008 at the top of the leaderboard, only to finish second behind Englishman David Nixon.

This time, he built on a comfortable four-shot lead overnight to beat Jose-Filipe Lima of Portugal by six strokes -- the biggest winning margin yet for the tournament. Australian Brett Rumford had won by five shots in 2003.

"I was very nervous this morning, and I didn't sleep that well last night either," Nilsson said. "I was just trying to focus on how I was going to play, but so many thoughts were going round my head at the same time.

"So I was extremely pleased with how I handled the pressure today. I'm just so happy."

Lima, the 2004 champion, had three bogeys but holed six birdies to take second place with a 68.

Javier Colomo of Spain shot the round of the day to finish with a share of third, tied with Lorenzo Gagli of Italy, Richard McEvoy of England and Ake Nilsson of Sweden. Colomo hit five birdies as he carded a bogey-free 66 for an overall 281.

James Morrison, second after the third round, quickly fell out of contention after making two consecutive bogeys on the front nine. The Englishman further slipped down the leaderboard with four more bogeys and only one birdie on the back nine to share seventh place with Sion E. Bebb of Wales and Andrew Tampion of Australia.