Drummond reverses form to secure Volvo PGA title
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2004 Volvo PGA Championship | Wrap | 31 May 2004
With the greatest respect to them, Scott Drummond, Ignacio Garrido, Anders Hansen and Andrew Oldcorn hardly represent the cream of European golf, but these are now the last four players to have won the tour’s “flagship” event, the Volvo PGA.
Today it was Drummond’s turn as he put together a brilliant last round of eight under 64 at Wentworth to win by two over his playing partner Angel Cabrera and by three over Joakim Haeggman who, for the second week in succession, secures a third placing.
It was a final day that was full of promise with Cabrera, who has now been second here twice in his last four attempts (his other second was in 2001), in the lead on his own as he entered the last round. The margin at that stage was just one over Drummond, Haeggman, Justin Rose and Darren Fichardt. When the 34-year-old Argentine eagled the par five fourth, it appeared that this may just be his day, especially when after dropping a shot at the 5th, he birdied the 6th and 7th. At that point he was in the lead by two over Drummond and Haeggman. Another eagle at the par five 12th by Cabrera followed a series of pars and as he stood on the thirteenth tee, his lead was one over Drummond with Haeggman a further two shots back.
The complexion and ultimate outcome of the tournament would change over the next two holes. Drummond birdied the thirteenth to draw level and when Cabrera bogeyed the par three fourteenth he had fallen one behind. Mind you even though Drummond is no slouch from the tee, there was always the feeling that Cabrera’s incredible power would be a major factor with Wentworth’s closing par fives at the 17th and 18th to come. It would be Drummond however who would make the most of those opportunities with two birdies there and with Cabrera only able to birdie the seventeenth, Drummond, who only on Friday celebrated his 30th birthday, who would take out his first European Tour title.
Drummond had only made three cuts in eleven starts leading into this week and with rounds of 80 and 77 in rounds one and two in Germany last week, it would be fair to say this was a result from out of the blue. Until this year Drummond hadn’t had full status on the European Tour, his status for 2004 coming via his 7th place on last year’s Challenge Tour. He had wins on the Challenge Tour in 2001 and 2003 but this was a different league altogether today and that he was able to do what he did, with so much at stake, is quite staggering. Birdies at the last two holes when he had to, was the sort of stuff that much more credentialed golfers are made of, so it may be that we will see the real Scott Drummond stand up from this point on.
Darren Clarke, Anders Hansen and Nick Faldo tied for fourth, one behind Haeggman with Faldo continuing his love affair with Wentworth. He is a four time winner of this event and once when the World Match Play was contested here. In recent years, despite not being the golfer he was, Faldo has had four consecutive top tens around Wentworth’s Burma Road layout. According to the Reuters Stats, produced every week on the European Tour, Faldo was number one in driving accuracy and number two in greens in regulation.
Hansen, the winner here in 2002 was around in 64 today, his round including six birdies and an eagle from the fairway at the par four, 11th.
Pre tournament favourite, Ernie Els, was perhaps a little disappointing but only by comparison, as a seventh place in an event like this is not all bad.
Of the Australasians Adam Scott recovered from his missed cut last week in Germany with weekend rounds of 67 here to finish 11th, Peter O’Malley was 18th, Richard Green 20th, Marcus Fraser and Nick O’Hern 27th and Peter Lonard 37th.
The European Tour now heads to Newport in Wales for the Celtic Manor Wales Open.
