Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño breaks his winless streak to pull in the Barclays Singapore Open title
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño was finally able to pull in the much-awaited victory at the Barclays Singapore Open after a lapse of three long years, marred by chronic back injuries and his vows with the putter. Leading the event in the second round, Fernandez-Castaño
lost the four-shot lead coming into the final round, after the event was shortened to 54-holes after continuous rains.
“It has been a great relief, especially the way I played yesterday - having a four shot lead and spoiling it all,” he said. “It has been a tough year and I got a monkey off my back. It has been three years without a victory and it means a lot to me.”
Fernandez-Castaño threw away his four-shot lead to give Filipino player Juvic Pagunsan to move ahead and forge a Playoff. The Spaniard went over to birdie the first Playoff hole while Pagunsan had to settle for a level-par, missing out on what could have
been his first European Tour victory.
“I had big confidence I was going to win. Unfortunately I missed the first putt.” he said.
Pagunsan, may not have won here at Sentosa Golf Club but has now added precious points to his Race to Dubai Rankings and earned a lucrative € 480,580 against Fernandez-Castaño’s € 720,877.
Four-time European tour winner, Fernandez-Castaño had been lurking in obscurity for no less than three years owing to his back injury. He resurfaced at the start of this year, pulling in strong finishes but remained winless despite of his relentless hard
work off and on course. He started changing his putting techniques which started paying off and ultimately helped him win the event here in Singapore.
“Putting is probably my Achilles tendon but I think it has improved a lot. But in the heat of the battle, it’s a different story.”
Fernandez-Castaño will now be in the race to win valuable points for the Ryder Cup next year which will be played at the Medinah County Golf Club. Although The Spaniard insisted that he is least concerned with the matter at the moment.
American Anthony Kim posted yet another strong finish, settling for a joint third along with South African Louis Oosthuizen.
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