Steely Cyril ends Europe's wait

Finally, a Frenchman beat the odds.

Until Sunday, the PGA Tour Series-China featured winners from nine different countries since its debut in 2014－but none from Europe.

England had come agonizingly close, with 2018 order of merit champion Callum Tarren finishing runner-up on six occasions. Last month, Tarren's compatriot Steve Lewton lost in a playoff in Nantong.

That all changed at the Suzhou Open.

In front of a packed grandstand on Jinji Lake International Golf Club's closing hole, Cyril Bouniol of France drained a pressure-packed 20-foot par putt to secure a one-shot victory over Trevor Sluman of the US.

"It's never easy to win, and it doesn't matter what lead you have or what tour you are playing, winning is never easy. Everyone played great here and Trevor was putting lots of pressure on me, so well played by him," said Bouniol, the only player in the field to shoot four sub-70 rounds.

It was a dramatic finish as Sluman, who was playing two groups in front of Bouniol, birdied holes 16 and 17 to card a 65 and walk off at 17-under.

Bouniol cruised to 5-under through 13 holes, but a bogey on the 14th followed by a three-putt on 17 reduced his lead to just one heading into what he called the "toughest hole" on the course.

The Frenchman needed to make par from the fringe to avoid a playoff, but a mis-hit chip left him with the difficult 20-footer, which he calmly drained.

"That three-putt on 17 was not good, especially since I knew 18 is by far the toughest hole on the course," said Bouniol. "I knew I needed to get up and down to win, but my chip was horrible. I just tried to laugh it off, knowing I still had a chance to make the putt.

"That definitely wasn't the easy way to win."

Bouniol spent a full season on the European Tour in 2015 and is playing his first year in China after earning his tour card through Q-school. Now halfway through the season, the 31-year-old said this victory could turn out to be the boost he needs to earn a ticket to the Web.com Tour in the US, where he resides with his wife.

"I've been wanting to win real bad over the past couple years, and it's tough. I've put a lot of hard work in. Whenever you have a chance, you have to seize it," he said.

"I'm just glad to get that win off my chest, and it's perfect timing, halfway through the season. I'm hoping for a strong finish to the season, and I want to win the order of merit."

Ireland's Niall Turner (69) chipped in for birdie on the final hole to finish third at 15-under, with Japan's Kenta Endo (69), one shot ahead of England's Stephen Lewton (67) and Americans Michael Perras (65) and Matt Gilchrest (72).

The top-five players on this season's order of merit will earn membership on next year's Web.com Tour, while finishers 6-10 will earn direct entry into the Web.com Tour's final qualifying tournament.

China's Liang Enqi was the highest-ranked amateur in the field at Suzhou. He had rounds of 68-72-68-70 to tie for 18th at 10-under.