Montgomerie wins European Open at K Club

Colin Montgomerie has won the European Open today, finishing on 11 under par.

Niclas Fasth was one shot back.

Graeme McDowell was the best of the Irish on five under par.

Montgomerie survived two late scares and two thunderstorm interruptions to pull off his first win in 19 months today.

Just 23 days after he crashed out of the US Open with a second round 82 – his second worst score ever in a major – Montgomerie followed up his third place in last week’s French Open with victory in the Smurfit Kappa European Open at the K Club near Dublin.

Across the River Liffey from where he celebrated Ryder Cup triumph last September Montgomerie fired a closing 65 to win by one from Swede Niclas Fasth. But his tee shots on the final two holes – both par threes – were both perilously close to going in the water.

He saved par both times and then had to wait during a second storm delay of 82 minutes before Fasth, having missed an eight-foot birdie putt to tie on the 17th, failed from 14 feet at the last.

The €590,000/£400,000 first prize was Montgomerie’s once Peter Hanson had then failed to hole-in-one at the last and overnight leader Soren Hansen failed to birdie the 17th.

There had been a 48-minute hold-up earlier in the afternoon and the second one stretched to 82 minutes, the six players still to finish returning at 6.25pm.

Fasth gave himself a 14-foot chance, but it slipped by as well and Montgomerie was safe once Peter Hanson had failed to hole-in-one at the last and Soren Hansen did not birdie the 17th.

What did go Fasth’s way was the race for a place in the HSBC World Match at Wentworth in October.

He just pipped Montgomerie for that by finishing second, but Montgomerie will come into the 16-man field if Fasth goes on to qualify through his performances in the majors this season.

Hansen, who lost a one-shot lead on the final day of the French Open last week, was two ahead when he resumed this time, but things tightened up after he followed a birdie at the second with a bogey two holes later.

Fasth and Hanson both moved alongside him and then Montgomerie grabbed a share of top spot too.

After three birdies in the first six he did then three-putt the long seventh for a six, but a chip to three feet on the 551-yard 10th was followed by a 30-footer at the next.

As he bogeyed the 12th off a bad drive, however, Fasth hit a brilliant second to 15 feet on the 10th and, although he narrowly failed with the eagle attempt, the tap-in made him the outright leader when play was first suspended.

That quickly changed on the resumption, however. Montgomerie’s first shot back was a 15-foot birdie putt from the fringe of the 15th, while Fasth’s was a bad pull left of the green on the short 12th.

The two-stroke swing put Montgomerie ahead and after scrambling his two closing pars he waited in the locker room to see if he had done enough to take the title without a play-off.

Fasth followed his bogey with another at the 13th when he pulled his second shot into the water, but when his pitch to the 15th spun back to four feet it set up a tense climax.

He had just missed an eight-foot birdie chance to tie on the 17th when the sirens sounded again to tell the players to stop because of another storm on the way.

Just like the US Open at Pebble Beach in 1992, Montgomerie had to wait two hours to see if he had done enough. Unlike then, though, he had this time.

It was a close-run thing for the one Open Championship place up for grabs as well, but in the end it went to Swede Pelle Edberg, thanks to the performance of his life.

Never previously higher than ninth in any Tour event, Edberg had led at halfway and then fallen back to 14th with a Saturday 73, but he roared back with a 66 for a share of third place that should also secure his card for next season.

The 28-year-old bandana-wearer would have been knocked out of the Open if Thomas Levet, runner-up to Ernie Els at Muirfield in 2002, had chipped in on the last or if Gregory Havret had also birdied the hole.

But the two Frenchmen failed and instead will now take part in final qualifying in Scotland tomorrow and Tuesday.

Edberg made it through end in the end based on his better last round compared to Havret.

Levet was not happy about the short notice given that play was resuming after the first rain delay.

“They told us in the players’ room that we were starting again in 10 minutes. We rushed to the cars and I had no rhythm,” he said.

Fasth joined Levet’s criticisms afterwards, saying that not being able to warm up properly cost him dearly.