Swede Alex Noren wins the Saab Wales Open at Celtic Manor
Sweden’s Alex Noren posted his second win on the European Tour at the Saab Wales Open at Celtic Manor Resort when he overtook a strong field to lift the title. Noren had been performing well throughout the tournament and didn’t have to do much work on the
final day as his win came with a score of 70.
He carded just two birdies to move two shots ahead of the approaching contenders Gregory Bourdy of France and Dane Anders Hansen. Noren finished with an aggregate of nine-under, 275.
"My driving has been the best it's ever been. I never really believed I could do well on tough courses, but now we play them all the time," said Noren. "I've proved to myself I can hit a lot of greens and not just rely on my short game."
Noren was also the overnight leader and resumed his penultimate 18 holes with a one-shot lead. By the seventh hole, his competitor Peter Hanson had fallen well below the leaderboard carding consecutive bogeys, giving Noren the precious lead of four.
A bogey at 15th reduced Noren’s lead to two shots, but he quickly strengthened his defense to even par the last three holes. This week will perhaps be the most memorable week for the Swede as he had already qualified for the US Open beginning
next week through the Monday qualifiers at Walton Heath.
Defending champion Graeme McDowell had consistent opening rounds of 67 and 68 but a disastrous 81 on the third day saw him swirl to the bottom of the leaderboard. A 71 on the final day did not prove good enough for the world number five, who finished for
joint 30th.
Noren has been playing on the tour for several years and posted his first victory at the Rolex Trophy on Challenge Tour in 2006. His second victory came after a pause of three years when he won the Omega European Masters in 2009. The 28-year-old hails from
Stockholm Sweden and has interest in car racing and Football.
Hansen had an encouraging start in the opening sessions where he carded rounds of 70, 70, 66 and 71. However, his unfortunate misadventure at the seventh proved to be expensive and he relied on Noren to make mistake on the remaining holes. The Dane finished
tied for second alongside Bourdy with seven-under, 277.
“He played very solid,” said Hansen. “That must be nice for Alex, he's such a good guy, and he really deserves to win. He's been playing great golf this year.”
Noren collected the winner’s cheque of €344,358 and will be playing for the 36-hole Open qualifier on Monday at Sunningdale. Bourdy and Hansen both collected the runners up share of €179,456 each.
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