AN EXCELLENT final round saw Craig Hinton cruise to a seven-shot victory in the Welsh Open Stroke Play Championship.

The Oxfordshire professional shot a five-under-par 67 in the fourth round at Prestatyn to close on seven-under.

He was the only player to finish under-par for the two-day event, with New Zealander Vaughan McCall trailing in a distant second on level par.

Hinton was four shots off the pace at the halfway stage, following rounds of 69 and 75 in north Wales.

But the 23-year-old carded a 70 in the third round to tie for the lead.

He was only one under for his final round at the turn, but a run of four birdies in five holes on the back nine in the final round saw him move well clear of the pack in the closing stages.

Welsh Open Stroke Play Championship leading final scores: 1 C Hinton (The Oxfordshire) 69 75 70 67=281, 2 V McCall (New Zealand) 72 75 70 71=288, 3 S Binning (Ranfurly Castle) 74 74 70 71=289, 4= S Crichton (Aberdour) 70 76 72 72=290, R Enoch (Truro) 73 72 72 73=290

Eddie Pepperell’s great start to the European Challenge Tour continued with a strong finish at the Telenet Trophy.

The 21-year-old followed up his maiden win on tour in France earlier this month by claiming a share of sixth place at Ravenstein Royal Golf Club in Belgium.

Level par rounds of 71 saw Pepperell make the cut, but his tournament challenge exploded on the back nine of the third round, where six birdies saw him card a six-under-par round of 65.

A closing 69 saw the Frilford Heath professional finish the tournament on eight-under, six shots behind winner, Italian Marco Crespi.

The result lifted Pepperell to sixth on the Challenge Tour rankings, but he is not playing in the Fred Olsen Challenge de Espana, which start in the Canary Islands today.