Finch fell into the water on 18 but kept his nerve for a two-shot win

Richard Finch kept his composure after falling into a river while playing his third shot to the 18th hole to win the Irish Open by two shots at Adare Manor.

Finch found the green with his iron shot and won despite carding a bogey.

The Englishman fired a final-round 70 to end on 10 under, with Felipe Aguilar from Chile second on eight under.

Robert Karlsson, Maarten Lafeber, Gary Murphy and Lee Westwood ended on seven under, Rory McIlroy six under and third round leader Bradley Dredge five under.

For Finch, it was his second European Tour win this season, following his New Zealand Open success in December.

It was a bit of an awkward stance, but I never gave falling in a thought - the momentum of the follow-through took me in Richard Finch

The 30-year-old from Hull picked up a first prize of �330,297 and saw the funny side of his excursion into the River Maigue.

Finch's second shot at the 18th fell just short of the water but as he hit his third onto the green, he fell into the river, emerging smiling but with his trousers drenched.

The incident endeared him further to the large crowd and he marched down the fairway to loud applause.

"It was not a choice really," he replied when asked about his early bath.

"It was a bit of an awkward stance, but I never gave falling in a thought.

"The momentum of the follow-through took me round and in."

Only 218th in the world entering the event, Finch now stands fifth in the Order of Merit, 105 places higher than he was last season, and is only just outside the top 10 in the Ryder Cup standings.

"I was a lot calmer than I was in New Zealand, and although my swing was not great, I felt a lot more in control," he added.

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Overnight leader Dredge fell away with an early bogey and double bogey and Karlsson and Finch were joint leaders midway through the final round.

Finch carded a birdie on the 9th to lead by a shot and after 10 holes he lay nine under, two clear of Karlsson and Lafeber.

Aguilar closed to within a shot with three successive birdies from the 13th to the 15th but a double bogey at the 16th after finding the water effectively ended his chances.

Finch extended his lead to four shots but Aguilar reduced his deficit with a birdie at the last.

Dutchman Lafeber fired the best round of the final 18 holes with a 67, while Westwood failed to build on his third-round 64 and had to settle for equal third after a level-par round.

A three-under 69 saw Murphy finish as the top Irish competitor, one ahead of McIlroy who birdied the last on his way to a 70.

Darren Clarke finished two under after a closing 73.