School's out for Sterne

A first win on the European Tour – any tour, in fact – is a notable feat in any golfer’s career - but the one by South African Richard Sterne in the Madrid Open yesterday deserves special mention.

The 23-year-old from Pretoria came into the week 122nd on the order of merit and knowing he had to move up six places in the last counting event to save his place on the circuit.

Now, after a brilliant closing round of 65, Sterne has a two-year tour exemption and is spared the ordeal of the qualifying school next month.

There was also good reason to celebrate for Australian Wade Ormsby, who finished joint sixth and leapt from 125th on the money list to 112th – four spots inside the cut-off mark. Needless to say, they were both ecstatic.

“A bad round today and I was back at the tour school,” said Sterne, who beat Dane Anders Hansen by two to become the 16th first-time winner of the season.

“I can’t believe I am standing here. I knew a top 12 or top 15 could be good enough, but I didn’t look at a leaderboard until the ninth and then didn’t look again until the 16th.”

The winner’s cheque for €165,839 was €34,500 more than he earned in the rest of the year.

He dedicated the victory to the memory of Mike Cheyne, a friend who died last week.

Tournament host Seve Ballesteros described Sterne’s performance as “unbelievable – outstanding. He must be very proud”.

Ormsby, who needed to par the last hole to win a card and instead birdied it, commented: “It feels awesome. Three days ago I booked a flight to the qualifying school – now I can cancel it.”

The fact that the pair of them saved their cards means, of course, that two others dropped out.

The unfortunate two were England’s Simon Wakefield and Australian Jarrod Moseley, who lost out to Swede Robert Karlsson for the last spot by just €13.50 - after a season in which he won over €144,000.

Wakefield will long remember the last hole of The Heritage tournament a month ago – for all the wrong reasons.

He was lying fourth, but hooked out of bounds and the bogey six cost him over €24,500. After missing all three halfway cuts since that traumatic moment it also cost him his card.

Former Dunhill Cup winner Jamie Spence, one of only 10 players on the circuit to have had a round of 60 and also chairman of the players’ committee, finished joint 30th yesterday and lost his card by three shots – and Manchester United added to his misery by beating his beloved Gunners 2-0.

Spence will now have to attend the six-round school for the first time since 1989 and with a look of utter dejection on his face he commented after his last-round 70: “If I’d played like that (all year) I would not have been in this position.”

The top 60 on the circuit move on to the season-ending Volvo Masters at Valderrama this week.

Ernie Els has already clinched top spot for the second year in a row, but England’s Jonathan Lomas and Australian Terry Price forced themselves into the field by finishing 14th and third respectively in Madrid. France’s Gregory Havret and Swede Christopher Hanell miss out.