Retief Goosen survived an almighty scare on the final hole at Gut Lärchenhof to win the Linde German Masters by a single shot. It was the South African’s 12th victory on The European Tour International Schedule and one which moved him back to the top of the Order of Merit.
In the end, Goosen’s final round 67 for a 20 under par total of 268 was good enough to fend off the challenge of four players who ended up sharing second place on 19 under par 269 – the English duo of Nick Dougherty and David Lynn, Spain’s José Maria Olazábal and Henrik Stenson of Sweden.
But those bare statistics do little justice to the drama which unfolded at the Cologne venue, especially in the latter stages, where the theatre around the closing hole held the large crowds in the stands and on the fairways spellbound.
Having recovered superbly from a double bogey six at the second with eight birdies in his next 13 holes, the two time US Open Champion was firmly in the driving seat when he came to the 18th tee two shots clear the field.
A regulation par four would have been sufficient for a comfortable victory and the €500,000 (£340,650) first prize, but there were gasps of astonishment from the spectators when the 36 year old pulled his three wood tee shot into the water hazard which hugs the left of the fairway.
Goosen could have played the ball but opted for a penalty drop instead and it proved to be a good decision as he proceeded to hit a sublime nine iron third shot over the water to within six feet of the pin.
Although he missed his resulting par putt, the bogey five was good enough for victory as both Olazábal and Lynn had already finished their rounds on 19 under par and, coming behind in the final pairing, neither Dougherty nor Stenson could make the birdie required to force a play-off.
“The breeze was a little bit off the right but not too much and I just felt like hitting a solid three wood down the left side which was the right club but I just pulled it,” he said. “As soon as I saw it flying through the air I knew it was in the water.
“There was a slight chance that I could have played it but where I had to drop it, the rough wasn’t very thick and I knew I could get onto the green in three shots. I dropped it perfectly and hit a perfect nine iron.
“I have come to Germany so many years now and not done any good. To finally win one here is great. I have never done well in the past around this golf course either but this week the weather was great and my putter got hot and I holed a lot of putts.”
All four of the runners-up had chances themselves to either force a play-off or go on and win outright, symptomatic of the entire week at Gut Lärchenhof where the leaderboard had been tightly bunched almost from the word go. But one by one they missed crucial putts at crucial times to all fall just one stroke short.
Perhaps the most pleased with his performance was Dougherty who, apart from reaffirming his credentials as one of the most exciting young talents in the game, also confirmed his place in Colin Montgomerie’s Great Britain and Ireland team for The Seve Trophy at The Wynyard Club in two weeks time.
He has been pursued hard all week by his fellow Englishman Kenneth Ferrie, who needed to finish ahead of him to deny Dougherty the last automatic place, but, although he battled hard, Ferrie’s final round 67 for a 15 under par total of 273 was good enough only for a share of tenth place.
“I had a lot of things on my plate at the start of this week and I had a lot of things to accomplish which I have done so I am very pleased,” he said. “One of those is the Seve Trophy of course and I am absolutely delighted to have confirmed my place in that team.”
Playing alongside Dougherty in the final group was Stenson who, like the Englishman was disappointed not to make the birdie on the 18th which would have forced a play-off with Goosen, but was nevertheless was delighted at another excellent week, his sixth top 15 finish in his last eight events.
“I wasn’t in the best of form today,” said the Swede, who forced himself into the reckoning with a 25 foot putt for eagle three on the 13th. “I tried hard but it just wasn’t there so I am very happy with the way I hung in and made my way round the golf course. But to be able to be tied second when your game is not 100 per cent, is very pleasing.”
Another satisfied man was Olazábal who gave further credence to the fact that his game is moving in the right direction and who also gave himself the perfect boost for his inaugural captaincy of the Continental European team in The Seve Trophy the week after next.
“It has been a lovely week and a good week to finish well up there,” said the Spaniard. “The only dark area has been the driving, it has been bad this week and I missed a lot of fairways. But if I improve in that area, I think I will be okay.”
Completing the quartet in second place was Lynn, who for a while in the early stages was in the lead on his own after three birdies in his first five holes. But he could not maintain such momentum and his only further gains of the day came at the 13th and the 17th.
“I got off to the start I wanted but it just went a little bit dry in the middle although I picked up a couple of shots at the end there,” he said. “I made a great par at the 15th because I had an awful lie in the bunker there and couldn’t get back onto the fairway. I knew I had to shoot around about 65 to have a chance of winning so I am very pleased with the way I played. It has been a great week and I felt good out there, very comfortable.”
England’s David Howell, the winner in Germany two weeks ago at the BMW International Open, finished sixth on 18 under par 270 after a closing 66, while two more Englishmen, Paul Casey and Anthony Wall, shared seventh on 17 under par 271 after respective closing rounds of 66 and 70.
