Wales Open: Dutchman Joost Luiten wins by one shot at Celtic Manor
Monday 22 September 2014 10:16, UK
Joost Luiten survived a late wobble to clinch a one-shot victory at the ISPS Handa Wales Open.
The Dutchman held a one-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood as he headed to the last hole at Celtic Manor knowing a par would be good enough to secure his fourth title on the European Tour.
I knew it was going to be a tough day. I just tried to hang in there and wait for my chances. I made some nice birdies down the end, and then a par at the last was luckily enough.
However a playoff became a real possibility when he compounded an awful drive that went way right by hitting his second shot across the fairway and into the rough on the other side.
His third cleared the water hazard and landed on the green but left himself with a lot of work to do with his putter. With 50 feet to go and knowing he had to get down in two, Luiten duly rolled his first attempt up close to calm his nerves.
The 28-year-old - who had led by two shots overnight after a 65 on Saturday - could duly tap in for a level-par round of 71 that meant he finished just ahead of Fleetwood on 14-under for the week.
“It was tough,” he admitted to Sky Sports. “It was hard work down the last.
“I knew it was going to be a tough day. I just tried to hang in there and wait for my chances. I made some nice birdies down the end, and then a par at the last was luckily enough.”
Faltering start
Luiten had also needed to overcome a faltering start on Sunday; he three-putted the opening hole and also bogeyed the second to see his advantage disappear during a front nine that he covered in 38 shots.
Marc Warren briefly moved ahead at 13 under before falling away, but Fleetwood reached that score himself to set the clubhouse lead thanks to a phenomenal finish.
After a double bogey at the 13th, the Englishman bounced back to go six under over his closing five holes. It could have been even better but he left an eagle attempt comfortably short on the final green, a putt he later admitted was “a bit weak”.
"After the double bogey on 13 I definitely wasn't thinking about getting to 13-under, just try your best on the last few and see what you can get," Fleetwood said.
"I wanted to get back to level par or under par for the day. I thought that would have been a good effort.
"After a poor summer, I wanted to finish the season well. I've been playing well recently and the more you get up there, the better. This is how you learn. You can't practice this on the range when you're coming down the stretch in the top five and just the more you do it, the better it is."
Still, Fleetwood's efforts were enough to see him end up in a share of second place with Shane Lowry, the halfway leader having also reached 13 under when he birdied the 18th to sign for a score of 70.
A group players were then a further shot back, Ryder Cup debutant Jamie Donaldson carding a 67 to finish alongside Nicolas Colsaerts, Eddie Pepperell, Warren and Edoardo Molinari.
Donaldson's European team-mates Thomas Bjorn and Lee Westwood didn't quite fair so well in their final appearance before heading to Gleneagles, Bjorn shooting a 74 to finish one over while Westwood struggled to a 76 despite two birdies in the last three holes.
