EDDIE Pepperell holed two late birdies to earn his sixth top-20 finish in just two months.

The Abingdon golfer carded a three-under par final round at the DS Automobiles Italian Open, moving him to six-under for the tournament.

It saw Pepperell finish in a tie for 12th at Marco Simone GC, Rome, eight shots shy of winner Robert Macintyre.

As he has so often this summer, the in-form 31-year-old set the tone with an excellent opening round.

Pepperell sunk four successive birdies from the ninth hole onwards to race up the leaderboard.

Those holes were sandwiched by two more birdies and a pair of bogeys as he managed a four-under 67 for his opening round.

The Frilford Heath member began at the tenth on day two and holed birdies at the 13th and 16th.

At this point it looked like Pepperell could reach the weekend challenging for the lead, but a triple bogey at the par-three 17th dented his challenge.

Bogeys at the first and seventh holes followed, plus a birdie at the eighth, as he shot a two-over par 73.

Pepperell’s third round was less dramatic as he began with a string of pars before the turn.

Birdies at the tenth, 12th and 16th holes followed, interspersed with bogeys at the 15th and 18th.

His final round was also relatively error-free, with the only setback a dropped shot at the 11th.

Birdies at the fifth and ninth had already put him in a solid position, before Pepperell finished with a flourish. He ends the weekend ranked 291 in the world.