Around The World
Having closed his 2014 European Tour campaign with a pair of late top 10s, 27-year-old Danny Willett had to be considered among the favorites at the season-opening Nedbank Golf Challenge, and in the end he justified that standing with a blazing weekend finish to claim his second career E Tour title. Facing a limited but very strong international field, Willett began his week quietly with a three-birdie, two-bogey 71 before turning in even par 36 in round two. But on Friday’s back nine he put the engine back into gear, posting four birdies to shoot 68 and climb to fourth place, five shots behind former world number one Luke Donald, who began his week 71-63. Donald continued his strong form on Saturday by carding a 69, but he needed all of it just to maintain his lead as Willett now began to catch fire, birdieing six of his first 11 holes en route to a 65 which beat the field by three shots and lifted him to within one of Donald. As it happened, Sunday was Donald’s 37th birthday but his hopes of his celebrating in grand style were dashed fairly early as he bogeyed the 3rd and 5th, by which time Willett had posted three early birdies and rocketed past him. A former world number one-ranked amateur, Willett turned in 33 and, riding a multi-shot lead, played some very steady golf coming home, methodically birdieing the 547-yard 10th and the 601-yard 14th before providing a final exclamation point by adding one final birdie at the 478-yard 17th………………Breaking a drought that dated all the way back to 2010, three-time Major champion Padraig Harrington overcame some early final round nerves to hold on for his second career Asian Tour victory at the Bank BRI Indonesia Open. It was very nearly a wire-to-wire run for Harrington, as his eight-birdie opening round 64 just missed sharing the lead with Australia’s Kalem Richardson, who posted a 63. Harrington then made five birdies and an eagle during Friday’s second round, with the resulting 66 lifting him into a tie for the lead with Thailand’s Thanyakon Khrongpha, who made nine birdies en route to posting a 63 of his own. But while Khrongpha slipped to a 71 on Saturday, Harrington added a smooth 67, and suddenly he held a commanding four-shot 54-hole lead. There was a modest sumble on Sunday, however, as the 43-year-old Irishman bogeyed the par-5 1st, then managed level fours before double-bogeying the par-3 7th. A bounce back birdie at the 8th restored order, however, before birdies on both the back nine par 5s (the 13th and 17th) eventually provided the margin of victory………………Recording his first multi-win season since 2001, 42-year-old Katsumasa Miyamoto claimed his 10th career Japan Tour title with a come-from-behind victory at the season-ending Golf Nippon Series JT Cup. Miyamoto rode something of a roller coaster throughout the week trailing first round leader Koumei Oda by four after opening with 68, tying for the halfway lead (with Yusaku Miyazato and Korean Sang-Hee Lee) following a Friday 67, then falling into a tie for sixth (three behind Lee) after a moderately disappointing Saturday 71. But Lee could do no better than a 71 of his own on Sunday, and while several pursuers stepped up to challenge, none could keep up with Miyamoto, who birdied three of his first six holes to jump firmly into contention. A bogey at the par-4 11th briefly slowed his momentum, but back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th drew him even with Prayad Marksaeng before Marksaeng bogey at the 15th ultimately proved the deciding factor…………………Twenty-five-year-old Lincoln Tighe broke through for his first career victory on the Australasian Tour, coming from well off the pace via a sterling final round 64 to capture the New South Wales PGA Championship. A New South Wales native, Tighe grabbed the lead early by opening with a 63 on Thursday, then posted a 70 to stand five behind halfway leader Troy Moses, a local amateur who torched the Riverside Oaks resort layout with a Friday 62 that included eight birdies and an eagle. A third round 72 would take much of the wind out of Moses’s sails, though he would ultimately close with 69 (including an eagle at the 1st) to tie for third. With 54-hole leader Scott Arnold having posted another 62 on Saturday, Tighe began Sunday five shots in arrears but quickly recorded five birdies (against one bogey) over his first seven holes, then added three more on the final nine to edge Arnold by one at the wire. The victory gave Tighe a two-year Australasian exemption – a great holiday gift as he was ticketed for first-stage Q School two weeks hence.