Argentina's Rafael Echenique on Sunday won the 101st Argentine Open in Buenos Aires's Pilar Golf Club; with a total score of 276 after clearing the 18-hole course six under par with 65 strokes: eight birdies, two bogeys and eight pars.

Echenique won the four-day competition by only one stroke, beating the favorite Angel Cabrera who shared second place with Ricardo Gonzalez: both with 278. Gonzalez had led the competition by three strokes until Saturday, when he scored 72.

It is 2006's second major title for Echenique, 25, after September Telia Challenge, held in Switzerland. His only major title before this was the 2004 Salta Open.

With Sunday's result Echnique becomes South America's sixth best player. Cabrera, the top player, is 229th worldwide.

The competition awards a total of US$200,000 in prizes and is part of the Tour of the Americas calendar.

Chile's Felipe Aguilar and Paraguay's Fabricio Zanotti were the best placed foreign players: sharing 5th place with 285 strokes.

(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2006)