Michael Hoey wins the Madeira Islands Open
Northern Irishman, Michael Hoey posted a 71 in the final round of Madeira Islands Open to claim his second European Tour title. Winning in Portugal two years ago, the player finished the tournament at 10 under par overall. Hoey had a two-shot lead over Chris
Gane and Jamie Elson at the end, and was happy with the way he played.
Starting off at level par on the Seve Ballesteros designed golf course, the player played well under pressure as he parred the first seven holes. However, Hoey made the turn at one under par over all after making a bogey on the eighth hole. Even though he
missed a shot on the thirteenth hole, the player got right back up by carding a birdie on the fourteenth hole. His final round might not have been the best he has played, it nevertheless awarded him a nice cheque of €116,660.
The player gave an exquisite performance in the second and third round of the tournament. In the second round, Hoey made six birdies and two bogeys. The front nine played by the player on Friday were amazing as he made a pair of birdies on the second, third,
sixth and seventh hole.
In the third round, Hoey did decently on the front nine. Making a birdie on the third hole, the player made another pair of birdies on the seventh and eighth hole. The back nine started off well as Hoey carded two birdies. After the birdie on the 14th
hole though, the player bogeyed the 16th hole. Finishing at four under par on Day 2, and five under par on Day 3, Hoey had the stage set for his second victory.
The limelight shined on the Englishman Simon Wakefield as well, as the player broke the Porto Santo Golfe course record. Wakefield posted an amazing 63 and could have even made the first 59 in European Tour history, had it not been for the double bogey on
the eighteenth.
"I've been threatening to play well for the last few weeks, then yesterday on the range I just found something I felt comfortable with, I had another good session on the range this morning, and took it out onto the course with me," said Wakefield.
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