Lee Westwood lost to Martin Kaymer in a play-off in the French Open in Paris.
The Englishman remains without a tournament win since 2007 after losing out on the first extra hole to the German.
The pair had finished on 13 under par, with Westwood (65) recording a joint best final round.
But returning to the 18th, the former European number one went into the lake before playing another poor shot from the drop zone.
Kaymer only just made it over the water with his second shot from the rough before clinching victory with an 18-foot par putt.
Ian Poulter finished third (67) on ten-under, while overnight leader Rafa Echenique had a horrendous final round of 77 to plummet down the leaderboard and finish on five-under along with Colin Montgomerie.
But it was Kaymer's day as he becomes the first German to win the tournament since Bernhard Langer 25 years ago.
He could have wrapped up victory sooner but missed birdie chances at the 16th and 17th in his final round of 68.
© Adfero Ltd