Final day quotes and comments

David Duval admitted he was relieved to have finally secured a major title with a three-stroke victory over Niclas Fasth to win the 130th Open
championship at Royal Lytham.

The former world No 1 carded a final round 67 to finish on 10 under par and erase the
disappointment of his poor finish to last year's event at St Andrews where he
dropped out of the running for second place on the 17th.

"I am very pleased," he beamed. "But I did not think I was swinging the club
well on the first couple of days. It was my putting that saved me, which is
the only reason I made the cut.

"The next couple of days, though, I hit it well and continued to putt well -
and look what happens. You could not play the way I was playing and get away
with it, so I made a few minor adjustments and just hit the balls better."

Duval was mobbed as he moved down the 18th towards his victory. "They were
unbelievable scenes," he said. "I was surrounded by police officers and R&A
folks and was still getting battered - but it was worth it.

"It is a kind of big relief. It (the Open) is so pressure-packed and when you
are on a golf course like this where any minor mistake is magnified, it makes
the pressure greater. But I did not give up and just kept plugging away and
on the last five or six holes just relied on my putting."

Duval revealed that the win was made extra special because of his problems in
last year's Open when he mounted the biggest challenge to Tiger Woods on the
final day, but finished only 11th after running up an eight at the 71st hole.
"It is a great thing, especially after last year," said the 29-year-old. "I have played in this championship now for seven years and had a wonderful experience every time.

"Last year I had a chance to win the tournament, although I probably should
not have played because of injury to my back and things did not work out. I just could not stay with it and soon after was out for about 10 or 12 weeks.

"A lot has been said of that (the 17th bunker at St Andrews), but the golf tournament was over before I got in there and all that happened. All it did was cost me some money and spots on the field. In essence, I finished second
and was the only other player who had a chance of winning the golf tournament.
"I was at a point where I had to try and knock it in and pray for a miracle
at the last."

After Duval lifted the old Claret Jug following rounds of 69, 73, 65 and 67, he admitted that the Lancashire links suited him well. He said: "I just feel
like this one is set up for me just right. I can't thank the grounds crew enouh. The course was wonderful, the greens were spectacular - the bunkers were too tough.

"I want to thank the fans who were wonderful today and I will do my best to
represent this championship in a great fashion."

Colin Montgomerie's pursuit of that elusive first major championship continues after his failure to hole enough putts during the last 54 holes at Royal Lytham after leading through the first two rounds.

"I didn't putt very well," admitted Montgomerie, who finished with a disappointing one over par 72, for a combined total of 280 which left him back in a tie for 13th at four under par for the tournament.

"I missed a putt for a birdie on Friday evening and the writing was on the wall then. I never felt comfortable with the putter after that."

David Dixon started the Open with a smile on his face and finished it in tears of laughter - and with the silver medal awarded to the best amateur.

The 24-year-old from Somerset began the final round at Royal Lytham a shot
ahead of Tiger Woods.
And even though he shot 74 to be one over par for the tournament, two shots
behind the world No 1 in overall 30th place, Dixon will never forget his first Open.

Not least among his memories will be that of his 26-stone caddie Shaun Harris
nearly taking a tumble into a bunker on the 15th.

Dixon said: "He was backing off to read the putt and he nearly fell into the
bunker. It was so funny, I had tears in my eyes.

"I couldn't see what I was doing when I hit my putt. He was really embarrassed, it was just great. Everything was just great, we had real fun.

"But Shaun was awesome, one of the best guys I could have on the bag. Nothing
was too much trouble and I know he enjoyed it as much as I did."

Dixon will now take his time contemplating his future before deciding whether
to take the leap and turn professional.

He added: "Every minute has been awesome. I'm not sure what my plans are yet.

I'm going to go home, let it all sink in and take things from there but I'm not sure what I'm going to do."

Dixon began his final round with a birdie, and then played a topsy-turvy round which seemed to be ending on a low note with a double-bogey at the 17th.On the last hole, however, cheered home by the massed spectators, he produced a final birdie to seal an amazing tournament.

"My shot at the last was a bit lucky - it looked headed for the bunker and then it jumped back on line. Maybe it was fate and someone up there was shining down on me."

Bernhard Langer insists he should be in the European Ryder Cup team after
finishing third at the Open.The German has moved up to 14th in the points list but is still four places outside theautomatic choices.

And with spending most of his time on the US Tour, the veteran of nine Ryder
Cups knows he will probably have to rely on a wild-card pick from captain Sam
Torrance to be at The Belfry in September.

The 43-year-old said: "I hope this sends Sam another message after my performance in Memphis (where he finished second in the FedEx St Jude Classic). I was also best European in the Masters, I was second best here and
I was best in the fifth major which is The Players Championship.

"So I was very much at the top of European golf in three of the biggest events we haveplayed this year.

"I've had other good performances so hopefully he will consider me if I don't make my way straight in.

"I understand that other guys are playing well but with my form I believe I should be there. But it's a difficult situation and I do not have many tournaments left to go."

Langer had to withdraw from last week's Scottish Open with a back problem and
the injury was so bad that he had to stop every hour on the drive down from
Loch Lomond because of the pain.

But he bounced back this week to card rounds of 71, 69, 67 and 71 and record
his sixth top-three Open finish, four shots behind winner David Duval.

"I was very happy to be playing in the Championship after last week and then
to be incontention in the final group with David I was even more pleased," said
Langer.

"But it was great to be there. That is what we practise for all these years. I felt very good and very comfortable but I just couldn't get the ball close enough.

"I shot one over on the par fives which is what really killed me. If I'd got
two or three under it would have been a different story."

Ernie Els’s 69 was the best return of the six men who tied for third on 278
(six under par). But although the South African finished strongly with birdies at the 14th and 18th, he was left to rue missed chances at the consecutive par-fives on the outward half, the sixth and seventh, where he found sand on both occasions and could do better than a pair of pars.

“It was disappointing because I don’t know how many chances I had for
birdies out there,” said Els. “If I had perhaps made fours on the par-fives
then the show would have been on the road but I kept on battling. I thought
the back nine might treat me good for a change but it didn’t quite happen.”

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