Choi takes German Masters with closing 67

KOREA’S KJ Choi claimed victory in the Linde German Masters in Cologne.

Choi, making his debut in a regular European Tour event, fired a closing 67 to collect the first prize of £351,978, finishing two ahead of Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Jimenez birdied the last to claim outright second and valuable Ryder Cup qualifying points, with Ian Poulter sharing third with Sweden’s Niclas Fasth.

Poulter missed out on a place in the World Cup as he needed to win to qualify for England’s two-man team at Kiawah Island in November, but was unable to recover from a double bogey six on the ninth where his approach found the water.

“But my game is miles more consistent since I started working with David Leadbetter and I’m hitting some really good golf shots and making some good putts as well,” he said.

Choi, whose caddie, Andy Prodger, had to pull his clubs on a trolley due to a bad back, took a one-shot lead into the final round but was quickly caught as Poulter birdied the first two.

He jumped back in front in spectacular fashion, however, his second shot from 187 yards diving into the hole without bouncing for an eagle two on the fifth, damaging the edge of the hole in the process.

There was never more than one shot in it until the closing stages, Poulter, Fasth, Jimenez and Choi all sharing the lead at one stage or another.

Even another eagle on the 13th from Choi only edged him ahead by a stroke, and it was not until the closing stretch that the outcome was decided.

Fasth bogeyed the 16th after a wayward tee shot and almost simultaneously Choi two-putted the 15th for a birdie in the group behind to stretch his lead to two shots. Jimenez then birdied the 18th to claim second place outright but Choi had hit his approach even closer and holed out for a winning birdie.

“I am so happy,” said Choi, who won twice on the US Tour last year. “I would have been happy with a top 10 before I came here but a win is very rewarding.

“My intention on the fifth was to hit it softly because I used a six-iron instead of a seven as normal because I was feeling tired, but I hit it solidly and it ended up in the hole so it worked out for the best. Now I have a five-year exemption on the European Tour I plan to play more over here.”

The last hole birdie meant Jimenez claimed second on his own instead of a three-way tie with Fasth and Poulter, the 12ft putt worth an extra 109,620 points and 333,330 in total.

That is more than a third of the amount with which Phil Price secured the last qualifying place at The Belfry last year, and Jimenez was delighted to increase his chances of making his second appearance in the contest.

“I was really pleased with the birdie putt on the last,” said the 39-year-old, who has not played in the Ryder Cup since the controversial clash at

Brookline in 1999. “That made me second on my own and the extra Ryder Cup points are a real bonus.”

Meanwhile, Lee Westwood won a kilo of gold worth approximately £7,500 for a hole-in-one in his final round.

Westwood aced the 226-yard eighth hole with a four-iron in a front nine of 29 that had him on course to break the magical 60 barrier.

The former European number one also birdied the 10th to stand eight under for the day and needed five more birdies in eight holes to record the first ever 59 on the European Tour.

However, the 30-year-old could only manage two more and bogeyed the 17th and had to settle for a round of 63 and 17 under par total of 271.