Sweden’s Henrik Stenson carded a closing 69 for 270, 18 under par, to win the 2nd Cuba Challenge Tour Grand Final at Varadero. It also confirmed his position as No.1 on the rankings ahead of Ireland’s David Higgins.
Compared to his previous three days Stenson’s round was very ordinary. He did just what he had to do on a steaming hot day and ran in three birdies and one bogey.
“I didn’t play that well today,” he admitted. “I just kept the ball in play and holed a few putts. I felt very tired which I feel was because I concentrated on fighting David and Carlos Rodiles for the No.1 spot and all the hard work had been done.
“Winning the Grand Final is great but topping the Order of Merit is more important.”
Stenson who finished runner-up at Varadero last year underlined his supremacy but Higgins and Rodiles had the sort of day they will want to forget. The Irishman carded a 71 for 287 while Rodiles had a 70 for 283.
In the race for the remaining tour cards Andrew Raitt, Jean Hugo and Marco Bernardini left happy but Graham Rankin, Simon Hurd, and Shaun Webster were disappointed.
Raitt carded a closing 70 for joint second place in the tournament with Michele Reale from italy and Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg, which enabled the England-based Scot to climb to 14th and secure his card.
That was at the expense of Webster who dropped to 17th after a closing 76 for 299 while Hurd who began the day in third spot slipped to a 76 for 283 and 18th on the rankings.
Rankin, the big Scot, needed a sub-70 return but he could manage only 71 for 282 to stay 16th.
