Sunday, July 19, 2009

NOW THE OPEN INQUESTS BEGIN


Lee Westwood's three

bogeys over last four

holes cost him title

FROM THE BBC.COM WEBSITE
Lee Westwood admitted feeling let down by his short game after the final-hole bogey that left him one shot adrift of a play-off for the Open title.
A superb bunker shot had the Englishman on the green in two but he saw his attempts for birdie and par slide past.
"I'm feeling fairly low now having three-putted on the last," he said.
"The 18th is not an easy hole, but if you hit the fairway the pin is very accessible. I figured that I would need a birdie there to beat Tom (Watson)."
Westwood, pictured above, finished with three bogeys over the final four holes and was left wondering what might have been after seeing Watson and eventual champion Stewart Cink progress to a four-hole shoot-out with tournament scores of two under.
"I got myself into a great position, hit some great putts on my way in, but just couldn't make one," he added.
There are some good things from this week. I'm sure I'll think what they are after I've left here.
"I thought I had made an eagle at 17 and thought I had made the putt at 16 too. I hit a good shot at 15 which just went too far into the back trap."
Chris Wood, 21, was tied for third with Westwood after he too bogeyed the last.
Earlier in his round an eagle at seven followed by birdies at eight and ten had given the Englishman a share of the lead.
But dropped shots at 13 and 14 meant his failure to rescue a heavy approach to the 18th saw him finish just short of the leaders.
Ross Fisher, who started the day one shot behind Watson, suddenly found himself in a three-shot lead after birdies on the 1st and 2nd coincided with dropped shots from the American veteran.
But the 28-year-old, who finished fifth in the US Open earlier this year, was catapulted back into the chasing pack by a disastrous quadruple-bogey 8 on the par-4 5.
Fisher dropped another two shots over holes 7 and 8 and a run of ten consecutive pars saw him finish tied in 13th on two over.
But despite his rapid reversal of fortunes Fisher insists that he had held out hope of victory after taking eight strokes on the par-four fifth.
"You just have to carry on. I was only back to level par. I still had 13 holes to go so I still felt I was very much in it," he said.
"I felt if I could stay in it to the last few holes I knew 16, 17 and 18 had been very kind to me.
England's Luke Donald signed off with a final-round 67 to take him to level par for the Turnberry event.

The 31-year-old briefly established himself as clubhouse leader after his consistent golf produced five birdies peppered throughout his round.
"I played great, really controlled today, and gave myself a chance so I'm happy with my game. I did not have a good record in this tournament so I am pleased," he said.
Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke finished nine over after bowing out with a one-under 69.
Clarke's score represented a dramatic improvement on Saturday's eight-over round and he was three under after 10 before bogeys on 14 and 15 blemished his card.
Paul Lawrie ended eight over par after a two-under round of 68 which featured an albatross at the par-5 seventh
England's Paul Casey also enjoyed a better day in Ayrshire to remain unmoved on eight over.
In an even-par round he picked up birdies at 11 and 12 between dropping shots at 4 and 17, but the world number three blamed his form earlier in the event for his failure to get amongst the contenders.
"This week's been very disappointing. It is a great but challenging golf course and I didn't play well enough," he said.
"Friday was extremely difficult and a case of hanging on and trying not to post a big number, so six over was not a good enough job of hanging on. I failed to limit the damage.
"I've played some great golf intermittently but I just didn't put it all together in consistent rounds and made too many errors. There are some good things from this week. I'm sure I'll think what they are after I've left."
England's Oliver Wilson also made it home in a regulation 70 in a final round that featured birdies on 7 and 14.


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Gutted for Westy, I think at the end he was concentrating more on winning outright, rather than focus on a play off


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Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, who finished as the top amateur at the 2007 Open at Carnoustie, wrapped up his campaign with a 71 which left him eight over overall.
Justin Rose, who clinched the silver medal as a 17-year-old in 1998, finished with a par round to end tied for 13th on two over.
McIlroy's countryman Graeme McDowell recovered from a double-bogey 6 on the 8th with a battling back nine in which he matched three bogeys with three birdies.
He ended three over for the day and five over for the tournament.
David Howell shot his worst round of the competition to return to the clubhouse in 76 and stray to nine over.
A double bogey on 15 came amid dropped shots on 13, 14 and 16 before a birdie on the penultimate hole helped limit the damage.
Nick Dougherty also failed to press on as he made four bogeys, including one on the tricky 5th, on his way to a three-over 73 for the day. He finished on a six-over total of 286.
An opening-round 68 had Anthony Wall just four shots off the lead, but he continued to drift out towards the backmarkers with a last-day 72.
After reaching the turn one under, four successive bogeys between 13 and 16 saw the Englishman settle on seven over for the tournament.
David Drysdale, who along with Lawrie was the only Scot to survive into the weekend, picked up three birdies over the final seven holes to post a 73.
His final total of 10 over was largely down to a slow start that saw him shoot five bogeys over the front nine.
Paul Broadhurst struggled to find form as he finished with a 74 that left him 10 over for the tournament.
Fellow Englishman Graeme Storm's solid round burst into life over the final five holes, where a run of bogeys was only interrupted by an eagle on 17.
He signed for a one-over 71 for a score of nine over for the four days.

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