Edfors upbeat after first tour win

TCL CLASSIC winner Johan Edfors is expecting a major career change after the 30-year-old Swede won his first tournament on the European Tour on the Chinese island of Hainan.

Edfors finished one shot ahead of Australia’s Andrew Buckle after overnight leader David Howell fell apart after three blistering opening rounds in the sedate surroundings of the South China Sea resort.

Howell went into the final day one shot clear at 23 under, but then imploded, carding a 75 to finish five behind the winner.

Edfors, whose previous best performance on the European Tour was a tie for ninth at the Madrid Open in 2004, now has a two-year exemption after earning his card for this season by going through the tour’s qualifying school.

“It will change a lot,” he said of his plans for the rest of the year.

“Until now, after getting my card back at the qualifying school in November, it was hard knowing what tournaments I would get to play.

“Now I can choose which tournaments I play and it will be great to make a schedule for the rest of the year. It will make a big impact.”

With the win, Edfors will receive an invitation to the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai in November and moved into the top 20 on the European Order of Merit after picking up a cheque for £97,300, the biggest pay-day of his career.

Edfors started the fourth round two shots behind Howell and two bogeys in the first three holes looked to have put him out of contention.

But seven birdies - including one at the 18th - in the remaining 15 holes and only one bogey proved to be enough to stave off Buckle’s challenge.

“I didn’t have a very good start and bogeyed two and three and thought I was out of it then,” said the Swede.

“Then, going down the ninth, I saw I was top of the leaderboard and I was really surprised. After that I started striking the ball nicely.

“On the last I had the perfect yardage for a pitching wedge for my second shot and hit it really well.

“I told myself to try to die the putt into the hole and it went straight in. It was a great feeling when that last putt went in.”

After three days of low scores the wind finally picked up at the Yalong Bay Golf Club, providing the field with a stiffer challenge than before.

Edfors, however, felt the course was still relatively easy.

“If there is no wind, this is one of the easier courses, but if it picks up...” he said.

“It suits my game perfectly. I am long off the tee and straight as well.