ST OMER (France), June 15: Australian Brett Rumford led the Aa St-Omer Open from start to finish to clinch his maiden European Tour title on Sunday.

The 25-year-old Perth man earned himself an 18-month full tour exemption with a closing four-under-par 67 for a winning total of 15-under 269, five strokes better than his final-day playing partner Ben Mason of England.

Rumford, who picked up $78,000 for winning, survived a scare on the par-five ninth when his approach to the green finished up less than three inches from out-of-bounds.

Having ridden his luck, Rumford, who could have been caught by Mason at that stage, went on to extend his three-shot overnight lead, picking up three birdies in the next four holes to go with the two he managed before the turn.

In 2001 Rumford allowed a three-shot final-day lead to slip away in the Australasian Tour Ericsson Masters in Melbourne and lost a playoff to Colin Montgomerie.

This time he made no mistake, even when Mason drew to within a stroke of him at the fifth.

With Rumford’s win came an immediate return to the full tour. After a promising start to his professional career, in which he finished second in the 2001 Sao Paulo Brazil Open and 57th on Europe’s 2001 money-list, the young Australian lost his card last season.

Mason’s runners-up spot, and the $52,000 cheque, moved him closer to retaining his full tour card as he finished four strokes better than Italy’s Federico Bisazza.

Leading final round scores (Britain unless stated):

259 — Brett Rumford (Australia) 64, 70, 68, 67.

264 — Ben Mason 70, 69, 66, 69.

268 — Federico Bisazza (Italy) 68, 72, 68, 70.

269 — James Hepworth 70, 72, 70, 67; Damien McGrane (Ireland) 72, 70, 69, 68; Mattias Eliasson (Sweden) 66, 73, 69, 71; Peter Hanson (Sweden) 69, 69, 70, 71.

270 — Martin LeMesurier 72, 73, 68, 67; Cesar Monasterio (Argentina) 66, 73, 72, 69; Stuart Little 71, 68, 71, 70; Alvaro Salto (Spain) 68, 67, 74, 71; Garry Houston 68, 69, 68, 75.

271 — Sebastien Branger (France) 69, 69, 72, 71; Bjorn Pettersson (Sweden) 68, 74, 68, 71; Martin Erlandsson (Sweden) 70, 69, 70, 72.

272 — Neil Cheetham 71, 72, 74, 65; Lucas Parsons (Australia) 72, 69, 73, 68; Erol Simsek (Germany) 71, 70, 71, 70.

273 — Pasi Purhonen (Finland) 73, 70, 73, 67.

274 — Philip Walton (Ireland) 74, 70, 71, 69; Sion Bebb 69, 72, 72, 71; Allan Hogh (Denmark) 71, 72, 70, 71; Raphael Pellicioli (France) 74, 71, 68, 71; Marc Pendaries (France) 69, 72, 71, 72; Paul Broadhurst 69, 69, 73, 73; Michele Reale (Italy) 70, 69, 72, 73.—Reuters