Steve Webster’s magnificent second shot to the 12th hole in the final round on his way to victory in the inaugural Portugal Masters at the Oceânico Victoria Golf Club has been voted The European Tour Shot of the Month for October.
Looking for his first European Tour success in over two years, the Englishman knew a significant move at the testing par five would give him a cushion over the chasing Robert Karlsson and he achieved just that, a superbly struck, adrenalin fuelled five iron over water to ten feet, set up the crucial eagle three which set him on his way to victory.
Just how much the win meant to him was obvious at the end as he collapsed in tears into the arms of his caddie John Mulrooney, moments before dedicating the win to the memory of his beloved mother Val who passed away five months previously.
Second place in October’s award went to Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy for his superb approach shot to the Road Hole 17th at St Andrews in the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, a shot which gave him a birdie three and helped him finish third in the tournament, effectively securing his playing privileges for the 2008 season.
Third place went to Argentina’s Daniel Vancsik for his towering three wood at the ninth hole in the final round of the Open de Madrid Valle Romano, a shot which helped him recover manfully from his disastrous nine at the fifth and battle back to eventually take third place.
The European Tour Shot of the Month is presented to a Tour Member for the shot judged to be the most outstanding during each calendar month on The European Tour International Schedule.
Previous winners this year have been: Retief Goosen (January), Mikko Ilonen (February and August), Anton Haig (March), Charl Schwartzel (April), Justin Rose (May), Angel Cabrera (June), Padraig Harrington (July) and Brett Rumford (September). The winning shots from each month are entered towards The European Tour Shot of the Year.
