Swede Noren beats Aussie Hend in play-off for
European Masters in Switzerland
SWEDE SUCCESS: Alex Noren with the Omega European Masters trophy and winner's red blazer (pictured by courtesy of Getty Images (c)
NEWS RELEASE
Crans
Montana, Switzerland: Alex Noren of Sweden holed a 30ft
birdie putt on the first play-off hole to defeat a battling Scott Hend
of Australia and
win the Omega European Masters for the second time in his career.
Noren,
who won the Swiss showpiece in 2009, returned with a five-under-par 65
to end his campaign tied on 17-under-par 263 alongside Hend (66) as they
returned to the
18th hole for extra time at the Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.
Victory
did not come easy for the Swede who had to hold off the strong
challenge from overnight leader Hend, who played solid golf except for
two poor tee shots on the
18th hole where he saved par.
The
amiable Andrew Johnston of England carded a 65 to finish on 266, three
shots from joining the play-off while Lee Westwood finished in fourth
position following a
63 at the €2.7 million (approximately US$3 million) event sanctioned by
the Asian Tour and European Tour.
Li Hao-tong of China fired a 69 to take a share of 18th place and finish as the highest placed Asian at the Omega European Masters.
The
2016 season could not get any better for Noren, who welcomed a baby
girl in February and was victorious at the Scottish Open in July. With
his win, the Swede is now
the only player after the late Seve Ballesteros of Spain and Thomas
Bjorn of Denmark to win two Omega European Masters title.
“It
sounds unbelievable. I’m coming off a three-week vacation and trying to
get the game in shape and it got into shape quite quickly so it is
fantastic. There were tough
guys hunting me today but I’m happy I won,” said Noren, now a six-time
winner in Europe.
The
34-year-old Noren offset Hend’s overnight one-shot lead with an opening
birdie and enjoyed a two-shot advantage when he holed four straight
birdies before the turn.
His
lead was reduced to one as a fast-charging Hend birdied 15 and it was
all squared when Noren three-putted 17 for his second bogey of the day.
“It was howling off the mat (18th
hole) and you need to hit a big hook. I got lucky pulling that off
(twice) but the other guys didn’t. I’ve never won coming from behind or
won in a play-off on
the European Tour so that makes it more amazing,” said Noren.
Hend, a nine-time Asian Tour winner, was disappointed to settle for second place after hitting two poor tee shots on the 18th hole into the trees.
“He
(Alex) played fantastic golf today but I didn’t play quite well enough.
That’s golf. You can’t complain when you get into position to win but
somebody makes a great birdie on the play-off hole to win,”
said Hend, a nine-time Asian Tour winner.
“I
think Alex played the 18th hole way better than I did and made an
awesome birdie for a deserving win. It wasn’t a daunting tee shot on the
last. It is just like any other tee shot. You just need to stand
there and hit it. I was unable to hit the shot I wanted yesterday and
today, twice,” he lamented.
David Drysdale, who finished T12 on 271, earned 40,905 euros.
David Drysdale, who finished T12 on 271, earned 40,905 euros.
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 280 (4x70). Yardage: 6,848
263 - Alex NOREN (SWE) 69-63-66-65, Scott HEND (AUS) 65-67-65-66.
*Noren won with a birdie on the first play-off hole*
266 - Andrew JOHNSTON (ENG) 65-68-68-65.
268 - Lee WESTWOOD (ENG) 72-66-67-63.
269 - Julien QUESNE (FRA) 65-68-71-65, Richard BLAND (ENG) 67-64-69-69.
270
- Matthew FITZPATRICK (ENG) 75-65-66-64, Renato PARATORE (ITA)
75-63-67-65, Pablo LARRAZABAL (ESP) 71-68-66-65, Florian FRITSCH (GER)
67-69-66-68, Romain LANGASQUE
(FRA) 68-63-70-69.
271
- Oliver FISHER (ENG) 70-69-69-63, Danny WILLETT (ENG) 65-72-70-64,
Raphael JACQUELIN (FRA) 69-69-67-66, Michael LORENZO-VERA (FRA)
64-73-67-67, David DRYSDALE (SCO)
70-68-64-69, Mikko ILONEN (FIN) 66-67-68-70.
272
- George COETZEE (RSA) 70-69-67-66, Anthony WALL (ENG) 66-73-65-68,
Joachim B. HANSEN (DEN) 65-68-70-69, Alexander LEVY (FRA) 68-67-68-69,
LI Hao-tong (CHN) 65-70-68-69,
James MORRISON (ENG) 65-70-68-69.
OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
277 Stephen Gallacher 72 68 70 67 (T41) 15,390 euros
278 Paul Lawrie 70 68 73 67 (T49) 11,090 euros
279 Richie Ramsay 71 68 69 71 (T58) 7,560 euros
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES AND PRIZEMONEY ALLOCATION
CLICK HERE
OTHER SCOTS' SCORES
277 Stephen Gallacher 72 68 70 67 (T41) 15,390 euros
278 Paul Lawrie 70 68 73 67 (T49) 11,090 euros
279 Richie Ramsay 71 68 69 71 (T58) 7,560 euros
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES AND PRIZEMONEY ALLOCATION
CLICK HERE
Labels: EUROPEAN TOUR
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