Retief Goosen and Ian Woosnam defeated Swedes Pierre Fulke and Patrik Sjoland
by one shot for the clinching point as the Rest of the World Team beat the Nordics
5-1 today in the SAS Invitational.
Goosen, this year's U.S. Open champion, and Woosnam combined for a 9-under
63 on the Ullna course.
Their win in the first match of the day gave the Rest of the World Team an
unbeatable 4-0 lead with two more matches to play.
Colin Montgomerie, captain of the Rest of the World Team, then made it 5-0,
combining with England's Justin Rose beat Thomas Bjorn of Denmark and Mikko Ilonen
of Finland by three strokes.
''It was a great performance by our team,'' said Montgomerie, who combined
for a 63 with Rose. ''I beat Thomas two days running and that never happened before.''
In Monday's opening matches, Montgomerie and Rose scored a 3-shot win over
Bjorn and Sjoland at Copenhagen, Denmark.
This was the most one-sided final result in the past four years of the competition
that traditionally starts with three matches played simultaneously in three Nordic
capitals and the finale alternating among the four Nordic capitals of Stockholm,
Copenhagen, Helsinki and Oslo.
Woosnam and Goosen had Monday's best score (62) at Oslo.
Woosnam's wins in Scandinavia came after he took a two-stroke penalty for
having an extra club in his bag in Sunday's final round of the British Open. Woosnam
tied for third in the British Open.
Jesper Parnevik, playing on the lakeside course where he honed his game as
a youngster, picked up some lost pride for the Nordic team by winning the final
match with Niclas Fasth.
They combined for a 65, two shots better than Adam Scott of Australia and
former British Open champion Paul Lawrie of Scotland.
Fasth didn't play well two days after his runner-up finish in the British
Open.
''He hit a few bad shots,'' Parnevik said. ''He told me he was tired and couldn't
concentrate.''
Former Ryder Cup player Per-Ulrik Johansson, a regular on the U.S. Tour this
year for the first time, caddied for Parnevik while on vacation in his native
Sweden.
''He did a great job, but I don't think he'll carry many more bags,'' Parnevik
said.
Parnevik, captain of the Nordic team, beat Tiger Woods on this course two
years ago when the Nordic team earned a tie. Last year, the Rest of the World
also won.
