Cevaer holds nerve to seal win

THIRTY-NINE year-old Frenchman Christian Cevaer held his head while all around were losing theirs to win the European Open by a shot from England’s Steve Webster, the Scot Gary Orr and Spain’s Alvaro Quiros at a sunny London Club yesterday.

Cevaer looked to have lost his chance when taking 39 to the turn but he came home in a faultless 35 for seven under par and that was enough to give him a second European Tour victory. He previously captured the Spanish Open in 2004 and since then he has played 141 tournaments, a gap of five years and 36 days. Prior to yesterday, his best finish this year was 31st in the Portuguese Open and it earned him a career best e341, 220 that moves him from 196th to 30th in the Race to Dubai European Tour order of merit.

You might not have expected a player with such a patchy record to stay cool under the enormous pressure that built up over the closing holes but the manner in which he tackled the dreaded 471 yards water strewn 18th demonstrated otherwise. It certainly proved too much for a whole host of contenders, not least Webster and Quiros, who were also seven under standing on the final tee.

“I played that hole in one under par for the four days and that makes me very proud because it is really difficult”, said Cevaer.

For the second week in a row, Rory McIlroy played himself into position for a big win in the third round of a tournament only to fail to capitalise on the final day.

He had come roaring through the field in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on the Saturday but eventually finished 5th, a very creditable effort in itself but not quite what he had been hoping for. However, the way things worked out yesterday were a whole lot more disappointing after coping brilliantly with the extremely tricky conditions on Saturday. A splendid four under par score of 68 left him within two strokes out of the lead held by the Indian Jeev Milkha Singh and Cevaer, but once again he came up short when opportunity beckoned.

He had a very disappointing seven bogeys in a round of 75 that saw him finish on three under par and tied for 12th. Having picked up four shots in the first six on the previous day, McIlroy was hoping for a similarly strong start. He was out of luck this time, however, as he bogeyed the short 3rd after missing the green to the right and even though he reduced the long 5th to a drive and nine iron, he missed the 15-foot eagle putt that might have ignited his round. It more or less all fell apart for him from there home with just one or two glimpses of his true class.

A classic example came at the 14th where the tee was moved forward to tempt the players to go for the green at the 338 yards par four and he duly knocked a beautifully struck hybrid club to 35 feet and shaved the hole for eagle. Unlike countless others – with the obvious exception of Cevaer – he also played the 18th perfectly and was again unlucky with the birdie putt.

McIlroy now takes two weeks off and hopes to go into the US Open at Bethpage Park, New York, on June 18 refreshed and ready to go. He had several physiotherapy sessions during the past week or so because of a sore back but insisted: “That had nothing to do with it. I’m perfectly okay. We are on top of it. I had MRI scans at the start of the year and we know what’s wrong with it and what to do. It’s a case of keeping the muscles around my lower back as strong as possible so I don’t’ get these niggles and injuries”.

For a time, it looked as if Stephen Dodd, the Welshman whose last win on Tour came in the 2006 event at The K Club, might produce the story of the day. In the belief that he had missed the cut on one over par after rounds of 75 and 70, he returned home to Cardiff on Friday before realising that he had survived. He drove back to Kent that night and got back into contention with a solid 70 on Saturday before coming through the field yesterday to tie for the lead on seven under after 16. However, he bogeyed the 17th and 18th to tie for 5th , something he thought an impossibility only 48 hours earlier!

Meanwhile, Ireland’s Peter Lawrie was blown away by the high winds on Saturday when a seven over par 79 sent him shooting back into the pack in the European Open. He had begun the day on six under par and with high hopes of a big finish but that quickly disappeared when he found the lake fronting the long 5th and ran up a double bogey seven. Having struggled to break 80, Lawrie had little more than pride to play for yesterday and to his credit he shot a par 72 for a one over total of 289 and a share of 32nd

Graeme McDowell’s season has yet to take off and a closing 74 left him on three over par for the championship and tied for 47th.

Paul McGinley’s travails continue. Yesterday 73 saw him finish on four over par 292 and way down in 51st place.