| Stockholm,
Sweden, 2nd August 1998 -
Swede Jesper
Parnevik won the Volvo Scandinavian Masters in his native Stockholm in superb
style on Sunday, beating off a challenge from Irishman Darren Clarke with comparative
ease. Parnevik,
who now plays regularly on the US Tour, began the day two shots ahead of Clarke
and finally ended three shots in front of his fellow Ryder Cup player with a final
round 70 for a 72 holes aggregate of 273, 11 under par. It
means Clarke finished second in a European Tour event for the second successive
week, having been beaten by one shot by Australian Stephen Leaney in the Dutch
Open last Sunday. Clarke
was not pleased with his game and said: "Two seconds running and a third
in all this year is not good. I'm not happy at being second, I'm disappointed. "But
I can't complain. Jesper played very solidly and it didn't help when I dropped
a shot at the second hole. I needed a good start to put pressure on him and that
put me back right away. "I
never really got close and when I knocked a birdie putt in at the 15th which might
have given me a final chance he followed me in for a birdie himself. "Then
when I made bogey at the 16th I knew the tournament was over. But I guess I've
got a big cheque and I've moved up from fourth to second in the Order of Merit
so that's nice." But
Clarke has other things on his mind. His wife Heather is expecting her first baby
at any minute and the burly Irishman flew home on a special flight to Ireland
immediately after the prize-giving. It
was the second time that Parnevik has won this tournament as the 33-year-old was
also successful in Malmo in 1995. As
he said later: "It's a great feeling to win in front of your own people.
The first time was great. But perhaps the second time is greater. "It's
very hard to win before your home crowd. They not only want you to win but they
expect you to win so the pressure is really on you. Now I just feel very tired. "I
haven't been putting well and had 37 putts in the third round but today I holed
a few good ones coming down the stretch. "I
thought I had won it coming down the 13th but Darren holed two good birdie putts
at 14 and 15 to put the pressure back on. But then he dropped a shot at the 16th
and I knew it was over." While
Parnevik and Clarke dominated the day's play, Stephen Field, the 33-year-old Barnsley
golfer, put in a storming finish to finish third, one shot behind Clarke, and
won £50,070, the biggest cheque of his career. "I
finished tied third in the Murphy's Cup in 1991 but this time I'm third on my
own," said Field. "But what has pleased me most is that it means I have
my Tour card for another year. "I've
only made two cuts this year before this week and had won only £7,000. Now I'm
thrilled to bits because it takes all the pressure off my shoulders for the rest
of the year." Field
shot 69 for 277, seven under par, and moved from joint seventh to third with birdies
at the last two holes. "It
was incredible," said Field. "At the 17th I was pin high just off the
green and holed out from 25 feet. "Then
I chipped in from 30 feet at the last. And when you think I also holed a bunker
shot from 30 yards for a birdie at the 10th you can see it was definitely my lucky
day." Colin
Montgomerie shot 69 to finish on 282, nine shots behind Parnevik, but said: "It
wasn't too bad today. I holed a few putts so I shall go to the States next Friday
to prepare for the USPGA in a pretty good frame of mind." | 
