A final round of 70 at the Indonesian Open was enough to ensure a maiden professional victory for Finland's Mikko Ilonen on Sunday in an event that was jointly sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.
Ilonen has been running into form since the beginning of 2007 - he finished in a tie for seventh place at last week's Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur - and his nine-under-par total saw him finish a shot clear of Frankie Minoza of the Philippines, India's Shiv Kapur and Australia's Andrew Tampion.
Rain interrputed all of the four days in Jakarta, but Ilonen proved himself to be a master of consistency. He started the final day tied for the lead with Minoza, but it was the late charge of Tampion that ultimately posed the biggest challenge to the Finn.
The Australian pulled to within one stroke of Ilonen after making birdie on the 17th, but a bogey on the last ultimately cost him the chance of forcing a play-off. Kapur's final round of 67 included five birdies, but frustratingly for him he was unable to make up any ground over the closing four holes and was left marooned on eight under, one stroke behind the winner.
"This week everything went right for me and I think I am running into the best form of my career so far," said 27-year-old Ilonen.
"The lightning delays seemed to help me and it all went really well for me."
The leading Briton at the tournament was English rookie James Heath, who finished in a tie for eighth despite a triple bogey on the 11th. England's Simon Dyson, the defending champion, finished a place behind Heath on two under.
INDONESIAN OPEN - LEADING SCORES
Jakarta, Indonesia
1. M Ilonen (Fin) -9
T2. F Minoza (Phi) -8
T2. S Kapur (Ind) -8
T2. A Tampion (Aus) -8
5. Jong Yul Suk (Kor) -5
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