Matteo Manassero lifts second European tour trophy at May bank Malaysian Open - Golf Update
Matteo Manassero has won the May bank Malaysian Open and with this marks his second victory on the European tour.
The young rookie stepped into the final round in the lead and continued to outstrip until the final hole. He teed off from the front and reeled a single birdie in the first nine holes. His slow start gave the impression that the Italian would not last long
in the lead, but he persisted.
The 17-year-old demonstrated a fabulous iron play on the tenth tee, which helped him plunge two yards en route to the green. Taking advantage of his accurate putting techniques, Manassero chipped a birdie from 22 feet and jumped in joy as he celebrated his
first eagle of the tournament. He birdied the next hole, bogeyed the adjacent, then birdied one more, and finally wrapped the tournament with a score of 16-under par.
The champion walked to the winner’s podium to collect his cheque and trophy. When asked to summarize the final moments, he said, “It was tough. The course is really tight and all the players were doing good and playing well. It's just not easy to concentrate,
especially to stay calm.”
Gregory Bourdy finished one stroke shy of the leader taking second place on the leader board. The Frenchman blistered four back-to-back birdies starting from the third hole, and capped the first half of the round with a score of 3-under par. He marched towards
the back and netted four more along with a double-bogey and capped the day with a score of 5-under par.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy once again lost the chance of winning the tournament after leading it for three rounds. The rookie from Northern Ireland stepped into the tournament with the hopes that he would make up for the loss of losing the Masters to Charl
Schwartzel. However, despite constant efforts, he was unable to relish success. He picked seven birdies in the day, but just when he could force the tournament into a playoff with Manassero, Rory McIlroy missed the par-putt on the 18th green and
fell out of contention.
The 21-year-old golfer walked towards the clubhouse, with his head down looking at the ground while people patted him on the shoulder offering words of encouragement and saying, “better luck next time.”
The May bank Malaysian Open wrapped up on Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club on Sunday.
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