Hanson holds on to win SAS Masters

BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2008 SAS Masters | Round Four | 18 Aug 2008

Peter Hanson has won just his second European Tour title and his first in more than three years at the €1.6 million SAS Masters in Stockholm, Sweden.

Hanson has produced several top tens over the past twelve months on the European Tour and arrived here off the back of two recent events on the PGA Tour, where his play was better than his finishes might suggest.

On a cold, wet and windy day, Hanson held off his fellow countryman Pelle Edberg and Englishman Nick Dougherty although the pressure of trying to win in front of his home crowd threatened to get the better of him late in his round.

A double bogey at his 11th hole followed by consecutive bogeys at the 16th and 17th holes opened the door for those behind him although neither Dougherty nor Edberg were able to capitalise.

Hanson had established a two shot lead over four players after 54 holes and by the time he made the turn he was still two ahead of Soren Kjeldsen. When he birdied the 10th and Kjeldsen struck troubles at the 11th, his lead was four. Although Hanson would have his troubles over the closing stages, he had done enough to hold on to win by one.

A win for Dougherty may well have guaranteed him a place in the Ryder Cup team but by finishing second he has opened the door for not only automatic selection but for consideration by Faldo amongst his final two captain’s picks. Dougherty was plagued by a bad back for much of the day, which may be of some concern for his Ryder Cup aspirations.

Hanson too has made progress although he will need something special in the next two events to force his way onto the team. Hanson will play next week’s KLM even in the Netherlands to push his claims to the fullest. There is now only next week’s KLM event and the Johnnie Walker at Gleneagles before the Ryder Cup team is announced.

Hanson’s win was surprisingly the first win by a Swede in this event since Jesper Parnevik in 1998.

Daniel Chopra, another born in Sweden and perhaps looking to force his way into Ryder Cup calculations, was nicely poised heading into the final day but the two time PGA Tour winner inexplicably self destructed early in his round and his chance was gone. He will be back in the US next week for the Barclays in New York.

The best of the Australians were Matthew Millar and Peter O’Malley, who both tied for 61st while New Zealander Gareth Paddison was 72nd.