Australian hopes didn&apost fire on the final day of the Madeira Islands Open, but Scotland&aposs Alastair Forsyth did and claimed a remarkable victory. Forsyth came from five behind to beat South African Hennie Otto at the first hole of a play-off. The 32-year-old from Glasgow, who did not make a single halfway cut in his first five starts of the year, fired a closing 67 to take full advantage of Otto&aposs worst round of the week. Seeking his first European title – he was not even the holder of a full Tour card entering the tournament – Otto followed three opening rounds of 67 with only a level-par 72. Matthew Millar fired a final-round 69 to end the week six-under-par and the best-placed Australian, nine shots behind eventual winner Forsyth. Wade Ormsby (69) was next best of the Australian charge in a share of 38th. Forsyth, whose one previous victory came after a play-off with Australian Stephen Leaney in Malaysia six years ago, could have taken first prize prior to sudden death. Seven birdies and two bogeys in his first 14 holes put him one ahead, but he bogeyed the short 17th and then both he and Otto birdied the 386-yard 18th to tie on the 15-under-par mark of 273, four clear of England&aposs Gary Clark. For Forsyth it was the fourth time out of four that he had birdied the final hole during the tournament – and he then made it five out of five to capture the trophy. Forsyth, pipped by Ian Poulter for the Tour&aposs Rookie of the Year award in 2000, had had 23 top-10 finishes since his first win, but this was the perfect way to put his nightmare start to 2008 behind him. He returned home from events in Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Dubai, India and Malaysia without having picked up a single penny. “I went into the year feeling pretty good about my game, but I made a really poor start with all the missed cuts,” Forsyth told www.europeantour.com. “But I have been playing all right over the past couple of weeks, so I felt as if a good result was just around the corner.” Fourth Round Results from the Madeira Islands Open BPI, Portugal -15: Alastair Forsyth 70, 70, 66, 67, Hennie Otto 67, 67, 67, 72 -11: Gary Clark 72, 71, 64, 70 -10: Sven Struver 66, 72, 71, 69 -9: John Buckerton 69, 72, 68, 70, Alvaro Velasco 73, 70, 68, 68, Fredrik Widmark 68, 70, 70, 71 -8: Gary Orr 72, 70, 67, 71 -7: Martin Wiegele 73, 71, 68, 69 -6: Sebastien Delagrange 71, 75, 67, 69, Ben Evans 74, 72, 70, 66, Peter Gustaffson 68, 73, 73, 68, Peter Lawrie 75, 69, 69, 69, Matthew Millar (Australia) 75, 70, 68, 69 -5: Benn Barham 74, 72, 68, 69, Sion E Bebb 71, 74, 68, 70, Markus Brier 71, 74, 71, 67, Adilson Da Silva 71, 68, 70, 74, Bradley Dredge 70, 75, 69, 69, Raphael Eyraud 70, 71, 74, 68 Also: -5: Gareth Paddison (New Zealand) 70, 75, 69, 69, Par: Wade Ormsby (Australia) 73, 73, 73, 69, +2: Steve Alker (New Zealand) 76, 70, 75, 69