GolfPlus July 2018 Digital Edition (July 2018) | Page 21

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KORHONEN SEALS
FIRST WIN AT SHOT CLOCK
MASTERS
D
ikko Korhonen produced a
brilliantly consistent display to
speed away from the ¿ eld and
secure his ¿ rst European Tour title at the Shot
Clock Masters. The Finn entered the ¿ nal day
with a ¿ ve-shot advantage but his lead was
cut to three in the early stages and he had to
contend with two weather delays at Diamond
Country Club near Vienna in Austria.
Korhonen is no stranger to adversity after his
12 visits to Qualifying School and he calmly
signed for a round of 69 for a sixteen under
par total and a six-shot victory over Scotland’s
Courtesy: GettyImages
Connor Syme. The 37 year old, who won
the Q-School Final Stage in 2014 and has
maintained his place on Tour ever since, now
has a victory at the 146th attempt thanks to a
62-hole bogey-free run that was only ended on
the ninth hole. Syme holed a 50 foot putt on
the last hole to take second place on his own
at ten under par and claim his best European
Tour ¿ nish after making just three of 12 cuts
so far in his rookie season. Belgium’s Nicolas
Colsaerts, Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin,
Justin Walters of South Africa and England’s
Steve Webster were one shot behind at nine
under par. The European Tour was breaking
new ground this week with every player
on the clock for every shot, and one-shot
penalties imposed for bad times. While only
four players ended the week with a one-shot
penalty, average round times for rounds one
to three shaved more than 30 minutes off the
2018 season average time for 18 holes in three
balls, while the score average for the week
was more than a shot better than the average
for all previous editions of this event, formerly
the Austrian Open, at Diamond Country Club
since 2010.
MATT WINS BMW INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Matt Wallace won his second European Tour title of the season - and
his third in little over an year - as he overtook Thorbjørn Olesen with a
fantastic final day performance to claim the BMW International Open.
The Englishman started the day just two
shots off the lead but spent much of the
day looking up the leaderboard at Olesen.
The Dane signed for a record-breaking
round of 61 to get to nine under par and
open up a three-shot lead before the final
group had even teed off, recording the
lowest round in BMW International Open
history, the joint-lowest round of the
season and the lowest round of his career
so far. Wallace stepped up in some style,
making five birdies in seven holes from
the turn to sign for a bogey-free 65 and get to ten under par, one
shot ahead of Olesen, who was also seeking his second title of the
season after winning the Italian Open earlier this month. It was then a
waiting game for the clubhouse leader as home hero Martin Kaymer
and Finland’s Mikko Korhonen got within one shot. Both ultimately
finished at nine under par alongside
Olesen - with Kaymer’s challenge ended
after he sent his second shot through
the back of the driveable 17th - as
Wallace added to last season’s victory
at the Open de Portugal at Morgado
Golf Resort and his triumph at the Hero
Indian Open in March. England’s Aaron
Rai and another Dane in Lucas Bjerregaard
finished one further back at eight
under par, while Soren Kjeldsen rounded
out a good weekend for Denmark
as he signed for a 68 to get to seven under par alongside Australia’s
Scott Hend.
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