DESPITE having 15 birdies in four rounds, Eddie Pepperell had to settle for joint 44th place in the NBO Oman Open.

The Abingdon golfer finished just one under par on 287 following rounds of 71, 71, 74 and 71, earning a prize of just over €7,000.

Whenever the 27-year-old looked like having an excellent round, he would have a run of dropped shots.

In his third round, he had a damaging double-bogey seven at the16th hole.

Then in his final round, the Frilford Heath member looked like breaking 70 for the first time in the tournament, before dropping shots at both the 15th and 16th holes to finish with his third 71.

However, the consolation for Pepperell was that, for the first time in 2018, he played all four rounds.

The tournament was won by Dutchman, Joost Luiten, who carded a final round of 68 to finish on a 16-under-par 272.

He won by two shots from Englishman Chris Wood.

This week, Pepperell will be competing in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, as the European Tour completes its Middle East tournaments.