|
Westwood storms to win
with closing 64
Lee Westwood upstaged world
No 1 Tiger Woods in the final round of the Deutsche Bank-Sap Open, firing a brilliant
eight-under-par 64 to claim the £270,000 winners cheque.
The Worksop produced the
perfect pick-me-up after a miserable season to move back into the world's top
ten after firing the lowest score of the week for a four-round total of 15-under.
Defending champion Woods,
two clear of Italian Emanuele Canonica and Westwood overnight, failed to produce
the expected fireworks and had to settle for a share of third on 11-under after
posting a round of two-under, 70.
Woods, leading by a shot
with eight to play, saw his chance disappear with his approach to the 11th where
his ball went into a pond.
Westwood, who also moved
into third place in the Volvo European Order of Merit behind Darren Clarke and
Ernie Els, finished thee clear of Canonica, with Woods tied for third with Ian
Woosnam and Open runner-up Jean Van de Velde.
Colin Montgomerie, having
moved into joint second place during the exciting final round, had to be content
with joint sixth.
Afterwards, 27-year-old
Westwood, who won the title in 1998, tried to explain his sudden change of form,
insisting: "I found something that made me click. To shoot a 64 today is one
of the best rounds of my career. I thought if I could get a good start it might
put a bit of pressure on Tiger in front.
"A lot of it is to do with
timing, confidence and getting focused again. Shooting a 64 on the last day and
coming from behind against Tiger and with so many other good people up there
feels really good - I always felt comfortable."
Woods said of his shot
on the 11th: "It was just a bad shot. I wasn't even trying to go for the flag
- I was aiming 10 feet left.
"It was a bad shot at the
wrong time and it cost me a wonderful chance to defend the title. But Lee played
beautifully.
"He needed to be aggressive
early on and he was able to do that and kept it going all day, which is even
more impressive. It was a wonderful round and he deserves to be champion. Its
hard to figure he was in despair a week ago, but that's golf."
Email this page to a friend | Return
to top of page
|