Patrik Sjoland overcame fellow Swede Fredrik Jacobson to capture only his second European tour title by winning the Murphy’s Irish Open at Ballybunion this afternoon. The pair fought it out for the £166,660 first prize after defending champion Sergio Garcia had a nightmare collapse and overnight leader Rolf Muntz fell away badly as well.
One ahead with two holes to play, Jacobson appeared on course to grab his maiden victory after finishing third and second on his last two starts. But as against Lee Westwood at Slaley Hall last weekend, the 25 year-old could not finish the job off, bogeying the 17th and 18th - both par fives. Sjoland, on the other hand, chipped to five feet to birdie the 17th and move one ahead, then safely parred the last to make it a two-stroke victory. The 29-year-old, who celebrated the birth of his first child eight weeks ago, closed with a 70 for a 14 under par total of 270.
“It's not as good as becoming a father, but it was definitely worth waiting for,” he said. Sjoland's previous win came in the 1998 Italian Open and he finished fifth on the European Order of Merit that season. Many were tipping him for a Ryder Cup debut after that, but he managed only 43rd on the money list last year and used the first half of this season to rebuild. After opening with sparkling rounds of 64 and 65 he might have wanted to finish in a little more style, but the famous Irish links - hosting an international championship for the first time - at last got some of its own back.
Garcia had a 77 to drop to joint 10th, while Muntz, two clear at the start of the day, finished with a 76 to share third place with Irish hope Paul McGinley, who to the delight of the fans chipped in for eagle at the 17th. Muntz gave the chasing pack instant encouragement by bogeying the first and third, but playing partner Garcia virtually wrecked his hopes by taking a triple-bogey seven on the 456-yard fourth and bogeys at the eighth and ninth.
At the first of those he needed three attempts to get his ball up a greenside bank and an angry swish of his club told its own story. By the time he three-putted from four feet and had a double-bogey seven on the 11th - as Muntz was doing the same - the young Spaniard was bringing up memories of his 89-83 nightmare at Carnoustie last year. It did not turn out that bad, but it was hardly encouraging with the Open at St Andrews his next tournament in less than three weeks' time.
Sjoland started steadily enough with two birdies in the first eight holes, but he then bogeyed the next two, birdied the two after that and then bogeyed the following two. With Jacobson holing from nine feet at the 439-yard 15th the pendulum appeared to have swung, but from a really awkward lie in a greenside bunker at the short 16th Sjoland splashed out to 15 feet and holed the putt to stay one behind. It boosted his morale and put the pressure on Jacobson, who immediately went left into the rough off the 17th tee and failed to get out with his next two shots. Now behind with one to play, he pushed his final drive against the boundary fence and had to take a penalty drop. Do not feel too sorry for him, though. His last three events have earned him over £225,000 and, having had to go back to the qualifying school last November, he is pushing for a place in Europe's top 10.
Leading scores after the final round of the Irish Open at the par-71 Ballybunion course on Sunday:
270 Patrik Sjoland (Sweden) 64 65 71 70 272 Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) 69 63 69 71 274 Paul McGinley (Ireland) 67 70 66 71, Rolf Muntz (Netherlands) 66 64 68 76 275 Peter Lonard (Australia) 69 68 72 66 276 Bradley Dredge (British) 70 68 73 65, Nick O'Hern (Australia) 69 68 70 69, Eduardo Romero (Argentina) 68 66 70 72, Des Smyth (Ireland) 65 70 70 71 277 Angel Cabrera (Argentina) 69 69 72 67, David Carter (British) 67 70 72 68, Bernhard Langer (Germany) 73 66 70 68, Mark Davis (British) 73 66 69 69, Adam Scott (Australia) 73 68 67 69, Jarmo Sandelin (Sweden) 71 71 66 69, Roger Wessels (South Africa) 68 68 71 70, Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain) 73 67 66 71, Philip Walton (Ireland) 67 67 71 72, Sergio Garcia (Spain) 64 70 66 77 278 Thomas Levet (France) 69 68 72 69 279 Retief Goosen (South Africa) 69 68 74 68, Peter Mitchell (British) 69 70 69 71 280 Rodger Davis (Australia) 72 67 73 68, Stephen Gallacher (British) 70 66 74 70, Andrew McLardy (South Africa) 73 66 71 70, Robert Karlsson (Sweden) 71 70 68 71, Alastair Forsyth (British) 72 66 70 72
PA Sports
