The 33-year-old finished three shots clear of Scotland’s Scott Henry thanks to a stunning 17 under par weekend, following up an eight under par third round with the best final round by a European Tour winner this season to set a new record for the lowest winning score in the tournament’s 22 year history at 24 under par.
Kakko, a two-time Challenge Tour winner, let out an almighty roar after sealing the victory with a par putt at the 18th and he did admit that the enormity of the occasion did take its toll during the round.
His caddie came to the rescue at the most opportune time, however, and now he is looking forward to returning to The European Tour a better and more experienced player.
“I was really nervous coming down the stretch on the last five holes,” he said. “I almost started crying with three holes to go – I was really getting emotional. But my caddie was very helpful, he gave me a couple of songs to sing and cracked a few jokes and that really helped me get into the moment.”
Tiago Cruz was the best of the Portuguese after a four under par final 68 round earned him a tied tenth place finish, a shot better than 2012 Madeira Islands Open champion Ricardo Santos and his fellow European Tour winner José-Filipe Lima.