Rose secures European OOM with Volvo victory
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2007 Volvo Masters | Round Four | 05 Nov 2007
Despite a closing nine holes of 40 in today’s final round of the Volvo Masters at Valderrama, Justin Rose has won his second event of the 2007 European Tour season after edging out Simon Dyson and Soren Kjeldsen at the second playoff hole.
In doing so, Rose won the 2007 European Tour Order of Merit, taking home €2,944,945 with Ernie Els securing second place on €2,496,237 and British Open champion Padriag Harrington third with €2,463,742. Els missed this week’s Volvo Masters deciding to instead play the Singapore Open, where he missed the cut one by one shot.
Rose’s victory today capped off a superb year that began with a win at the MasterCard Masters in late 2006, his first event of the 2007 European Tour season. In that time, he has been inside the top ten, seven times, three of those as runner-up.
For Rose it completed a memorable week having aced the 3rd hole on Thursday, leading for so long and then nearly throwing it all away.
“The two putt pars I made at the 15th and 16th were very important today as I was throwing shots away at the time. I’ve really wanted this all week and have tried to stay patient.”
All three playoff protagonists had bogeyed the final hole of the day at the brutally demanding Valderrama layout in the south west of Spain, but Rose was able to regather his thoughts and his composure to hole a 15 foot birdie putt at the second extra hole.
Rose was in complete control, it seemed, as he made the turn maintaining his overnight four shot lead but his struggles began with a double bogey at the 11th and the persistence of both Dyson and Kjeldsen, who both played beautifully on the final day.
Dyson received a bad break at the 72nd hole when his drive finished in a hole in the middle of the fairway and took bogey but both he and Kjeldsen will be pleased to have finished runner up in such a significant event. Kjeldsen completed his best ever season on the European Tour while Dyson’s season nearly matched that of 2006.
Rose will move well inside the top ten in the world rankings, completing a season which has seen his emergence both in the US and worldwide as a genuine world class player.
Graeme McDowell played his way back into the tournament with an opening nine of 32 to be at even par. He bogeyed the 12th but drama followed at the controversial 17th where he holed his second with a 7 iron from 160 metres to move to 1 under and was a serious chance to take the title.
Unfortunately for the man from Northern Ireland he would double bogey the last to eventually cost himself a place in the playoff. McDowell finished in a share of fourth place with Padraig Harrington who had his chance to match Rose but finished two back.
Two Australians played the event with both Brett Rumford and Peter O’Malley finishing 25th.
The leading Australian on the completed European Tour Order of Merit was Richard Green who along with Rumford was the only Australian winner on the European Tour in 2007. Nick O’Hern, who did not play this week was the next best finishing 40th.
With the 2007 European Tour season now completed, the 2008 season begins next week in Shanghai with the lucrative HSBC Champions event being played at the Sheshan International Golf Club.
