Omega European Masters: Alex Noren Claims Playoff Victory
Alex Noren grabbed his second win of the season and his second at the Omega European Masters, defeating Scott Hend in a playoff.
In the end Alex Noren’s class and composure shone through as the Swede claimed his sixth victory on the European Tour on Sunday, but not before the crowd were treated to a large helping of drama.
In spite of outstanding play from some notable names in the chasing pack, the final round in the Swiss Alps always felt like something of a straight shootout for the trophy between Noren and Scott Hend.
The Australian, Hend, had held a one-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s 18 holes, but a fast start from Noren quickly saw the tables turn.
After a birdie at the opening hole, Noren parred his way through to the sixth tee from where he proceeded to roll off four straight birdies for an outward nine of 30.
The 34-year-old Swede played steady golf throughout the round, taking bogeys in his stride when they came his way, which was only twice on Sunday. As a result, Hend was tasked with making inroads of his own on the back nine and he managed to do just that.
Birdies at 12, 14 and 15 left Hend only one stroke back as the final group approached the last three holes at Crans-sur-Sierre, and when Noren dropped a shot at the 71st hole that left the duo all square heading down the final hole of regulation play.
CRANS-MONTANA, SWITZERLAND – SEPTEMBER 04: Alex Noren of Sweden poses with the trophy folowing his victory during the final round of the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club on September 4, 2016 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
With the 18th fairway sloping naturally with the mountainous terrain of Crans Montana towards a large fairway bunker on the right, the tee shot requires the players to pitch their drive on the high side of the fairway and allow it to feed down to safety. With a bunch of trees guarding that ideal line on the left side, that quickly proved to be easier said than done though.
Holding the honor after Noren’s bogey, Hend opted for an iron for safety (supposedly) but hit a snap hook into the trees leaving him a long way from the green.
The third member of the final group on the day was Richard Bland, who went even worse than Hend. Bland’s tee shot went straight left, clattering the trees and bouncing back on to the front tee in a sight that’s rarely seen in professional golf. In spite of all of the negative visuals that had gone before him, Noren stepped up and hit a beautiful high draw right into the middle of the fairway.
From there it seemed as if the tournament was over, but as Hend took an aggressive line he got a fortunate bounce in pitching short of the water yet bouncing over to the safety of the green on the other side. Both Hend and Noren would make par and go back to the tee to decide the tournament in sudden death.
Having won the honor, Hend hit a near replica of his hooked tee shot from regulation, while Noren continued to confidently find the fairway. Although Hend managed to once again navigate over the water, a 25-footer from Noren sealed a closing birdie and the tournament.
Having already won the Scottish Open earlier this summer, Noren has rocketed up the world rankings and seems to be delivering on the potential he has shown for many years on the European Tour. If this win had come a few weeks earlier, Noren would probably have been headed for his first Ryder Cup.
Speaking of the Ryder Cup, there were strong final rounds from Europeans Lee Westwood, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Danny Willett who went around in 63, 64 and 64 respectively.
England’s Andrew Johnston also finished strongly, with a 65 securing outright third place for the man known as Beef.
Omega European Masters – Day 4 Scores and Leaderboard
T1 Alex Noren – 65 (-17)
T1 Scott Hend – 66 (-17)
3 Andrew Johnston – 65 (-14)
4 Lee Westwood – 65 (-12)
T5 Julien Quesne – 65 (-11)
T5 Richard Bland – 69 (-11)
T7 Matthew Fitzpatrick – 64 (-10)
T7 Renato Parratore – 65 (-10)
T7 Pablo Larrazabal – 65 (-10)
T7 Romain Langasque – 69 (-10)
T7 Florian Fritsch – 68 (-10)
The European Tour returns to action on Thursday in the Netherlands for the KLM Open.
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