Dodd ends title thirst with China win

Welshman Stephen Dodd began the new European tour season today by ending a 15-year wait for his first title.

The 38-year-old from Cardiff, who turned professional after becoming British amateur champion back in 1989, held off the challenge of Thomas Bjorn to win the Volvo China Open in Shanghai by three.

“As time goes on you’re not sure it’s going to happen, so obviously I’m delighted,” said Dodd after a 12-foot birdie putt on the last gave him a 12 under par total of 276 and earned him just over €120,000.

Dodd’s career has included no fewer than 10 trips to the qualifying school, the last of them only four years ago. This was his 166th tour event.

“I never believed I wasn’t good enough,” he added. “If I didn’t think that I would have stopped a long time ago.

“There are lots of people who have been to the school four, five or six times and proved themselves as winners.”

Ranked 229th in the world compared to Bjorn’s 31st, Dodd made a nonsense of that apparent gulf in class. He led by three after the second and third rounds as well and while Bjorn’s closing 68 was one of the best scores of the day it did not even narrow the gap.

There were a couple of worrying moments, however. For the second day running he was in water at the seventh, but unlike his third round triple bogey this time he pitched dead to drop only one shot.

He then birdied the 10th, 11th and 13th to be four clear before Bjorn, his only danger by then, pitched to three feet at the 15th and drew two behind when Dodd three-putted the 17th.

A poor drive down the 554-yard last denied Bjorn the chance to go for the green, though, and instead it was Dodd who was on in two. A smile came on his face at that point and while his long eagle attempt was probably his worst putt of the week his next found the target.

It was the 13th runners-up finish of Bjorn’s career and third this year. Miguel Angel Jimenez pipped him in the Johnnie Walker Classic in Bangkok and Ernie Els in the American Express world championship at Mount Juliet in Ireland.

Joint third were Thai golfers Chawalit Plaphol and Thaworn Wiratchant along with Australian Jason Dawes, whose closing 66 included a hole-in-one on the 185-yard eighth.