Miko Ilonen records another runner-up finish on the European Tour this year
Miko Ilonen missed out on a chance of winning the European Tour’s Volvo China Open, after he failed to put on a challenge in the final moments of the tournament, on Sunday, April 5, 2013.
The tournament was being staged at the Binhai Lake Golf Club, featuring some of the best players from different parts of the world, vying for a share of RMB 20,000,000 prize fund.
Entering the final round, Ilonen was trailing Brett Rumford by just one stroke. Meanwhile, when Rumford displayed a great game to post six birdies on the first 14 holes that he played, Ilonen kept on following him on the leaderboard by playing great shots
on the course.
He parred the opening holes, followed by a birdie on the second hole, before recording pars on each of the last seven holes on the front nine of the course. It was relatively a slow start. However, his birdies on the 10th and the 11th hole took him back
into the competition for a victory in the tournament.
Thereafter, he failed to maintain consistency in his game, and faltered for three bogeys, against a lone birdie, to finish four strokes behind Rumford. As a result, he had to settle for the second position in the tournament, which was his second runner-up
finish of the season.
Talking to the European Tour’s official website, he expressed his disappointment in recording a poor finish to his campaign Tianjin, China. He now plans to tweak his game for the upcoming events and hopes to record a victory by the end of the year.
“I had a chance to win, disappointed not to do so but I couldn’t do much more,” he said. “You saw what Brett did there on the back nine for three holes – I’m speechless. I couldn’t force the issue. I had a number in my mind, which is what Brett finished
on.”
“It’s my second second place this year, so hopefully there’s a win round the corner. The confidence is building; I’ve been hitting the ball nicely most of the time this year. Today I drove the ball really well, and I feel a lot more confident all round,” he
added.
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