Porteous proves peerless in Prague

Haydn Porteous edged out Lee Slattery at Prague's Albatross Golf Resort to win the Czech Masters by two strokes.

Two behind at the start of Sunday's final round, Porteous birdied the first and second holes to pull level with his playing partner and the duo enjoyed a fascinating battle thereafter.

The likes of Tom Lewis, Pontus Widegren and James Morrison all moved into contention in an event offering the first qualifying points towards places in Europe's 2018 Ryder Cup team.

Yet Porteous and Slattery were clear of the field coming down the stretch and it was the South African who prevailed to claim his second European Tour title.

A par on 18 sealed Porteous' victory, with Slattery making bogey on the last to complete a disappointing 73.

The winner posted a 69 for a total of 13 under - six birdies on Sunday comfortably off-setting the damage done by three bogeys.

Porteous and Slattery had each reached 13 under earlier in the day, but the tournament looked wide open when the final pair started the back nine shakily, both men slipping back to 11 under.

Morrison was unable to maintain his form after surging into contention with six birdies on the front nine, the Englishman coming back in 39 to finish five off the pace.

A bogey-free 67 lifted Lewis to 10 under, a total duly matched by Widegren (70). That was only enough to earn a share of third, though, as Porteous finished strongly to capitalise on Slattery's inconsistency.