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Choi-ce Win for KJ in the Linde German Masters
KJ Choi wrote his name into the annals of European golf at sunkissed Gut Lärchenhof, when he won the Linde German Masters to become the first Korean golfer in history to triumph on The European Tour International Schedule. |
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The talented 33 year old, who won twice on the US PGA Tour last season, showed an abundance of fighting spirit allied to his obvious golfing talents to post a final round 67 for a 26 under par total of 262 to win by a two shots from Spain’s Miguel Angel Jiménez, who closed with a 68 for 264. Sweden’s Niclas Fasth and England’s Ian Poulter shared third place on 23 under par 265 after respective final rounds of 65 and 68 and, together with Jiménez, all had at least a share of the lead in a dramatic final round. But none of the trio could do quite enough to unseat Choi at the finish. Twice the Korean golfer, selected as a wild card pick for the International Team for November’s Presidents Cup match, looked to have undone himself with errors but bounced back in spectacular fashion to reignite the challenge which eventually took him to the €500,000 (£351,978) first prize. First mistake came at the short fourth hole where he ran up a bogey four but his recovery could not have been more spectacular, holing his six iron approach from 187 yards on the fifth hole for an audacious eagle two.
That put the Korean in the driving seat and his victory was all but ensured when he birdied the long 15th at the same time his then closest challenger, Fasth, pulled his tee shot left of the green at the short 16th and took bogey four. It moved Choi two shots clear of the field and allowed him the luxury of parring the 16th and 17th before finishing in style with a birdie three from five feet at the last after another excellent iron approach. “I am so happy to have won this tournament after having been invited to play,” said Choi. “To come up with a win is very rewarding. I just want to thank the sponsors Linde and all the tournament staff for treating me so well and making me feel so much at home. This week the impression of Germany for me is truly wonderful.” Runner-up Jiménez started well with three birdies in four holes from the fourth but a bogey four at the 11th halted his momentum. However holing from 12 feet at the 18th for a closing birdie three to give him second place outright, pleased the 39 year old no end.
Fasth was also pleased with his performance, considering he was still suffering from the effects of a cold picked up earlier in the week from his baby son Adam. His start provided the ideal pick-me-up, with two birdies and an eagle in the first four holes. The Swede, who started the final round five shots adrift, was attempting to complete the biggest comeback victory of The 2003 European Tour season to date, but his bogey at the 16th finally put paid to that. “I shot better than I expected over the weekend because of the way I felt so I am happy with the result,” he said. “The way I played gives me a lot of confidence for the next tournament but also I am pleased in terms of the Ryder Cup points because the Ryder Cup is one of my main goals for next year.” Sharing third place, Poulter battled hard in his usual combative style but saw his realistic chance of victory sink with his ball at the ninth, which found the water to the left of the green, on his way to a double bogey six.
Darren Clarke, Anders Hansen and Carlos Rodiles shared fifth place on 268 while Michael Campbell, Mathias Grönberg, David Howell and Jarrod Moseley shared eighth on 269. Further down the final leaderboard, even though he could not conjure up his second win in four weeks in Germany, the final afternoon at Gut Lärchenhof, nevertheless, proved an enjoyable one for Lee Westwood who finished in a tie for 13th. The 30 year old Englishman, who won the BMW International Open in Munich last month, carded a superb final round 63 for a 17 under par total of 271, a round which included a hole in one at the 241 yard eight hole, the perfect strike with a four iron winning Westwood a kilo of solid gold, worth in the region of €10,735 (£7,500). It was Westwood’s second hole in one in his European Tour career, the first one coming in June in The Daily Telegraph Damovo British Masters at the Marriott Forest of Arden in June, for which he was given a crate of champagne. “I’m not sure entirely what to do with it but it is obviously very nice and the hole in one helped at the time because it made me seven under after eight holes,” said Westwood after being presented with the gold bar by Dr Horst Muller, a representative of one of the tournament sponsors Dresdner Bank.
“I have been working very hard on my game with David (Leadbetter) and things are beginning to come together. I have been hitting it solid again this week and as a result I am looking forward to every time I play now.” Courtesy of www.europeantour.com |
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