MUNICH — David Horsey of England birdied the 18th hole to win the BMW International Open by one stroke over countryman Ross Fisher on Sunday, shooting a 5-under 67 that earned him the biggest victory of his career.The 25-year-old former Walker Cup player earned 0,000 — easily the biggest payday of his two-year professional career. Horsey finished at 18 under after starting the day tied for fifth place.
BMW International Open Leaderboard
1. Horsey (-18)
2. Fisher (-17)
T-3. Larrazabal (-16)
T-3. Cabrera Bello (-16)
T-3. Cejka (-16)
T-3. Dredge (-16)
T-3. Ferrie (-16)
• Complete scores
Fisher had an eagle on the 18th to place second, and five players tied for third at 16 under: Alex Cejka of Germany, Pablo Larrazabal and Rafael Cabrero-Bello of Spain, Kenneth Ferrie of England and Bradley Dredge of Wales.Dredge took a three-shot lead into the final round and extended it to four after a birdie on No. 1. But his round collapsed when he dropped five shots in seven holes from the 10th, finishing with a 74.Horsey went into the 18th sharing the lead with Dredge, who was on the 16th at the time. The Welshman twice hit into a hazard for a double bogey, while Horsey laid up with his second shot on the par-5 last and then sank what turned out to be a winning birdie putt from 5 feet.”Although it was on a big screen by the green, I didn’t watch what was happening to Bradley,” Horsey said. “My caddy knew, but he didn’t tell me and I didn’t ask.”I was just trying to make birdie without having taken the risk of trying to hit the green in two from 250 yards out. I didn’t want to know what was happening because I did not want to put pressure on myself. That had been my policy all through the four rounds, to just try to relax and not make mistakes.”Horsey’s previous best finishes were second places at the Malaysian Open in 2009 and the recent BMW Italian Open.For Dredge, his failure to close out victory could prove costly. He was hoping to record his third career win and move closer to securing a Ryder Cup place on home soil at Celtic Manor in October.But having lost a four-shot advantage, he now possesses the unwanted record of failing to close out victory nine times in his career when leading going into the final day.At No. 39, Fisher was the highest-ranked player in the last three playing groups and had started his final round tied for second.His hopes of victory crashed when he ran up a double bogey at the fourth and he only managed to clinch second place with a closing 70 when he sank a putt for an eagle on the final green.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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MUNICH — Bradley Dredge of Wales had two eagles in a round for the first time in his 14-year professional career to earn a one-shot lead at the midpoint of the BMW International Open.He shot a 5-under 67 in Friday’s second round, picking up four shots at the sixth and 11th holes at the Golfclub Munchen Eichenreid.Dredge moved to 13-under for the tournament to pull ahead of Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal, who shot a 6-under 66 earlier in the day.Spain’s Ignacio Garrido and Scotland’s Peter Whiteford were tied for third at 11-under.Ernie Els missed the cut when he couldn’t make a 15-foot eagle putt on the last green.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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MUNICH — Bradley Dredge of Wales and Peter Whiteford of Scotland led the BMW International Open by one shot after shooting 8-under 64s in the first round Thursday.A group of four players had 65s: Ariel Canete of Argentina, Jeppe Huldahl of Sweden, Chapchair Nirat of Thailand and Phil Price of Wales.
BMW International Open Leaderboard
T-1. Dredge (-8)
T-1. Whiteford (-8)
T-3. Canete (-7)
T-3. Huldahl (-7)
T-3. Nirat (-7)
T-3. Price (-7)
• Complete scores
The joint leaders played early Thursday and are likely to find the course much tougher when they start their second rounds after lunch Friday.The greens, softened by weeks of heavy rain, will become bumpy and unpredictable after being exposed to heavy player traffic.That was the view of the world No. 8 Paul Casey after he shot a 68 late on the first day.”I was maybe a little frustrated,” he said. “I gave myself so many opportunities tee to green. I was pretty strong. But we had had a lot of traffic on the greens and a couple of putts slipped by.”But the good news was that if I could play like that in the second round starting early when the greens will be fantastic, I will be able to take advantage of it.”Casey also remarked how different the conditions were in Munich, with damp fairways giving way to preferred lies, to those at Pebble Beach where he played last weekend in the U.S. Open.”These greens are very receptive and you can throw the ball very close to the hole, where at Pebble Beach it was a question of playing the ball bump and run into the greens. I was not surprised that a couple of guys coming over from the States struggled.”While U.S. Open third-placed finisher Ernie Els shot a 2-under 70, the chief victim was Sergio Garcia, who opened with a 5-over 77.The Spaniard didn’t speak to reporters after his round. He has slumped from second in the world to 36th over the last 15 months, and is worried his run of five straight Ryder Cups is about to end.”He isn’t enjoying his golf at all at the moment,” said Carlos Rodriguez, Garcia’s manager. “It is not fun for him.”Sergio has even said that if Colin Montgomerie were willing to offer him a Ryder Cup wild card he’s not sure whether he would be of any help to the European team.”
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
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