With most of Europe’s top players competing in the U.S. Open, Zions took advantage. He opened with a 68 on the difficult Saint Omer GC in Lumbres, France, following with a 72-67 combo that left him three shots clear of England’s Daniel Denison entering Sunday’s finale.

Denison never challenged in the final round, carding a 73 to Zions’ 69. Denison shared second with Sweden’s Peter Gustafsson and Scotland’s Craig Lee at 283.

A seven-way tie for fifth included England’s Lee Slattery, who finished with a 1-under 70 and 284 total for his best outing since taking 10^th in May’s Madeira Islands Open.

Zions, age 32, pocketed €100,000 for the win, easily his best European Tour performance (he’d previously tied for ninth in two tourneys). The 2010 Challenge Tour graduate was delighted with his ball-striking under windy conditions, noting, “I hardly missed any greens.”

The European Tour welcomes back stars including Martin Kaymer, Paul Casey and Sergio Garcia for this week’s BMW International Open in Munich, Germany.

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