Simon Thornton secures victory at the Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open – Golf News
Simon Thornton came out of the field of the Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open presented by Neuflize OBC as the victor after he defeated Tjaart Van der Walt on the first hole in the playoffs, on Sunday, June 16, 2013.
The tournament was being staged at the Aa St Omer Golf Club, featuring players from both the European Tour as well as the European Challenge Tour.
Both Thornton and Van der Walt were sharing the lead, entering the final round. Thornton recorded three birdies against as many bogeys, on the front nine to reach the turn in even par.
The back nine of the course witnessed him starting with a birdie, followed by eight straight par putts, to finish the day with a one-under par score.
At the same time, Van der Walt also had a similar round on Sunday, as he was even par for the round through the first nine holes and recorded one birdie and eight pars on the back nine of the course.
At the end of the fourth round in regulation, both Thornton and Van der Walt were again sharing the lead with each scoring a five-under par overall score.
As a result, the game entered into the sudden death playoffs. Van der Walt faltered for a bogey on the first extra hole and Thornton took home the title by draining his fifth par putt on the 18th hole this week.
Talking to the European Tour’s official website, he dedicated his victory to his father who passed away three years ago.
“It’s so big for me,” said a tearful Thornton. “On father’s day too, he passed away three years ago and it still hurts, but they are happy tears today. This is dedicated to him.”
“I didn’t play particularly well today in perfect conditions but I got up and down when I had to and holed good putts,” he added. “I didn’t put myself in position very well so I was scrambling but my short game held up. I've been
working hard on my short game for a couple of years now so I'm delighted.”
Seve Benson, in the meantime, also carded a one-under par 70 in the final round and finished third on the leaderboard. His final score at the end of the tournament was four-under par 280.
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