Paul Casey wins Volvo Golf Champions 2011
Paul Casey sunk a six-foot par putt on the closing hole of the Royal Golf Club to lift the Volvo Golf Champions 2011 trophy on Sunday.
The battle was fascinating against the challenges posed by the course, which was designed by Colin Montgomerie. The severity of the course could be judged by the fact that the designer himself failed to comprehend it and finished at
the 59th spot.
Despite the threat, some superb golf was witnessed in the four-day session.
Paul Casey, the veteran who was controversially left out of the Ryder Cup squad by the captain Montgomerie, smashed a score of 20-under-par and surged into lead. The Englishman teed off from the front and capped the tournament with
four points.
Initially, the lead was nowhere in the scenario for the Englishman as Peter Hanson was leading the table. The Swede held the top most spot of the leaderboard for three rounds and it was obvious that he would win the title. However,
he hit the second shot into a sand trap, which ultimately led to his defeat.
Casey took advantage of Hanson’s loss and played safely through the last hole to finish with a one-stroke lead. This was Casey’s first victory in 20 months and he was extremely happy about it.
While speaking to the press, he said, “It feels fantastic - the most important thing to me is winning and that was huge. The goal is obviously the majors, but how are you going to win major championships if you cannot win regular events? I am going in the
right direction.”
In 2009, Casey finished at the third spot in the Official World Golf Rankings, but injured himself during a practice match before the 2010 Open and fell down six places in the rankings.
Meanwhile, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Peter Hanson finished second. Jimenez had been invisible since the Ryder Cup, but Sunday afternoon was a mere blast for the Spaniard who putted his way through the closing holes without any loss.
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