EUROPEAN TOUR: AFTER ONLY one win in his first 309 European Tour events, Dane Soren Kjeldsen made it two in his last nine in Seville yesterday.
Four months after capturing the Volvo Masters, the 33-year-old returned to Spain and triumphed in the Andalucian Open by three strokes from Scotland’s David Drysdale.
It was far closer than that suggests, however. Level with three to play, Kjeldsen went into the lake with his second shot to the long 16th and had to make an 18-footer to stay on terms.
He then holed from even further for a brilliant two at the 226-yard 17th and, with Drysdale failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker, there was a two-shot gap coming to the last.
The Edinburgh golfer, third in Johannesburg in January, was trying for his first Tour victory in 166 starts but, after finding more sand with his closing drive, he hit his second into the water and double-bogeyed.
“I’m a bit gutted about that,” said Drysdale, who closed with a 74 for 11 under par.
“It was quite a good battle and it’s just a shame not to hit any decent shots when I really needed to. I hit poor tee shots on 16, 17 and 18. When you have to hit the fairways, I started missing them.”
After 10 visits to the qualifying school, however, his runners-up cheque for just over €111,110 should spare him a return at the end of the season.
Kjeldsen, who three-putted the last for bogey, picked up €166,000 and now heads to Augusta for his Masters debut at his highest-ever position in the world – just outside the top 40.
He qualified for Augusta by finishing last year 50th in the world rankings – by one-hundredth of a point.
“I was told I was in by a guy who writes a website in Denmark, then he called again to say that he had it wrong and if Richard Sterne won in South Africa I would be 51st,” he said.
“I watched him make tons of birdies on the back nine, then win in a play-off, so went on a 10-mile run on the beach screaming and shouting.
“I came back, settled down, went to bed and then the same guy rang at midnight to say he had it wrong and I was in.
“I was completely drained but it’s a dream to play there and I already have the invitation framed.” His closing 72 was 10 more than his career-best, course-record third round but it was much windier and colder and there was some rain to contend with, too.
Kjeldsen, who on his last start was seventh at the WGC-CA Championship in Miami, said: “I’m not happy with the way I hit the ball and I knew I had to hole good putts. “To be honest, I was very nervous all day. I knew it was going to be a tough day and it was.
“But I never lost patience and belief. I felt like I was giving it away after a horrific shot on 16 but I had to grit my teeth and it was great to make that putt there and play 17 the way I did.”
It became a two-horse race when Scot Alastair Forsyth and Welshman Rhys Davies, three behind at the time, took seven and six respectively on the 428-yard 14th.
That allowed England’s Graeme Storm and Italian Francesco Molinari to share third place on 10 under but Colin Montgomerie, second after his opening 67, finished his 500th Tour event as a professional down in 31st spot and unhappy about the number of mental mistakes he made.
“I wasted dozens of shots this week and the last time I played,” stated Montgomerie, who has not had a top-10 finish since the start of July last year. “It’s not good enough. I just seem to be making mental mistakes that I never ever made, there are so many creeping in that weren’t there before.
“To compete and win I’ve got to stop them. I’ll have a think, come back and try again.”
NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP: England’s Sam Hutsby denied Spain’s Carlos Pigem Xammar victory in the European Nations Amateur Championship at Sotogrande, by taking the title at the first extra hole played.
Shane Lowry, the defending champion, finished sixth, eight strokes outside the play-off with a 71, 282 aggregate. Pigem Xammar had a four stroke advantage over Hutsby, starting Saturday’s final round but shot a 75 to a 71.
England also won the team title by four strokes from France on 840. Spain were third on 849 with Ireland fourth on 855 as Alan Dunbar’s closing 70 meant that Cian Curley’s final round 81 was discarded. Dunbar and Curley finished tied 46th in the individual title race, while in the women’s competitions, Italy beat Spain by a shot and The Netherlands’ Marieke Nivard finished two strokes clear of Marion Ricordeau in the individual on 290.
ASIAN TOUR: Meanwhile, Swede Johan Edfors won the Black Mountain Masters in Thailand yesterday and joint runner-up Prayad Marksaeng was left waiting to learn if his sparkling closing round had earned him a place in The Masters.
Marksaeng began the last day in 15th place but shot a 64 and shared the lead when Edfors double-bogeyed the 15th. However, the former Scottish Open champion birdied two of the last three for a 68 and 17-under-par total and England’s Chris Rodgers also finished with a birdie to join Marksaeng on 15 under.
The Thai golfer went into the tournament 50th in the world, but events in Europe and America meant he had to wait another day to see if he was still in the top 50 and therefore in the field for Augusta.
US TOUR: Heavy rain in Orlando meant fourth-round play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational was delayed at Bay Hill – as crowds awaited the tussle between Tiger Woods and Sean O’Hair. O’Hair was leading after seven on four under, with Woods one shot behind. Pádraig Harrington was a further three behind on the 10th.
