A four-over-par final round of 75 saw Marcus Fraser tie for 50th place in the French Open, well behind first-time European Tour winner Graeme Storm. Eight years after lifting the British amateur title – and four years after working at a cream cake factory cleaning trays for 145 a week – Storm pulled off yet another French Open shock when he came past and then held off, among others, Ryder Cup pair Colin Montgomerie and Thomas Bjorn at Le Golf National. Michael Campbell was the best of the Australasians, finishing in a tie for 33rd place after a four-under-par final round of 67, while Fraser was on seven-over, five shots ahead of compatriot Peter O&aposMalley (76), who finished equal 60th. As well as capturing the first prize of nearly $1.06million by a stroke from Dane Soren Hansen, Storm also earned himself a place in the Open Championship at Carnoustie on July 19-22. “Working in the factory for three months helped he see the other side,” he said as he reflected on a victory he reckoned will change his life. “I&aposm not being disrespectful to people who work in a factory but, from what I wanted to achieve, it was a bit of a comedown.” Storm, who created history in 2000 when his mother caddied for him in the Masters, needed the extra cash while making four trips to the qualifying school, but then gradually began to establish himself. And now he has at last joined his Walker Cup team-mates Luke Donald, Paul Casey and Simon Dyson in the winners&apos enclosure. The nearest he had come before was when he tied second with Montgomerie at the 2005 European Open – thanks to clear leader Bjorn crashing to a closing 86 – and his win today followed no fewer than 13 top 10 finishes. A brilliant closing 66, the round of his career, gave him the title with a seven-under-par total of 277. Overnight leader Hansen was runner-up after failing with a 40-foot birdie putt to tie on the last, while Montgomerie&aposs bogeys at the 15th and 16th kept his 19-month barren spell going and left him in a tie for third, not only with Bjorn, who also led outright on the back nine, but also Englishman Simon Khan and Irishman Damien McGrane. Final results from Open de France -7: Graeme Storm 66 74 71 66 -6: Soren Hansen 69 71 66 72 -5: Thomas Bjorn 68 71 71 69, Simon Khan 70 67 70 72, Damien McGrane 68 72 74 65, Colin Montgomerie 68 70 71 70 -4: Martin Kaymer 70 70 69 71, Jyoti Randhawa 68 72 72 68 -3: Ian Poulter 70 74 68 69 -2: Bradley Dredge 73 71 70 68, David Lynn 72 69 69 72 Also: +5: Michael Campbell (New Zealand) 71 74 77 67 +7: Marcus Fraser (Australia) 75 69 72 75 +12: Peter O&aposMalley (Australia) 73 73 74 76
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