Sweden’s Fredrik Widmark produced one the European Challenge Tour’s best performances of the 2005 season to emerge victorious from a titanic three way battle for the Texbond Open, carding a final round of six under par 66 to record a two stroke victory over his playing partners Michael Hoey of Northern Ireland and Scotland’s Marc Warren.
Widmark’s brilliant final round gave him a 19 under par aggregate of 269, ensured his second title of the season and moved him to sixth place on the Rankings with earnings of €57,990 after he collected the first prize of €18,400 at Garda Golf.
The 29 year old began the day three strokes behind Hoey, but his stunning performance saw him overhaul the Northern Irishman at the top of the leaderboard after a two shot swing on the par five 16th, where Widmark made birdie and Hoey dropped a shot to fall back alongside Warren two strokes behind the Swede with two holes to play.
With all three players making par on the 17th, Hoey and Warren were looking for Widmark to drop a shot coming down the last which became a distinct possibility after the Swede’s tee shot kicked right into a cluster of trees.
But Widmark played a great recovery to the edge of the green and the chipped to a foot, leaving himself the simplest of par putts for the title after a wonderful battle among the three men in the final group of the day.
Overnight leader Hoey bogeyed the first hole of the final round to fall back to 15 under par, but quickly made amends for that early aberration with an eagle three at the par five third to move to 17 under.
Widmark had drawn level with the Northern Irishman by the time the last group had left the seventh green after a great run of four birdies in five holes between the third and the seventh. Warren, like Hoey, dropped a shot at the first but quickly hauled himself back into the running with two birdies over the next eight holes.
All three men in the final group picked up a shot at the par five 11th, leaving Hoey and Widmark tied for the lead on 18 under with Warren two shots back as they entered the tournament’s final stretch. The Scotsman then got to within one of the lead with a brilliant birdie two at Garda Golf’s 246 yard par thee 14th, setting up the thrilling finale to what had been a fantastic three way fight for the title.
“I am so happy to have won here – especially the way that I won,” said Widmark. “It just feels great to have won here at Garda of all places because I love playing here. I have been in good form all week and I managed to keep that going today.
“I got off to a great start and was four under through seven holes and I just tried to keep that going. Myself, Michael and Mark had a great fight out there and it wasn’t really decided until the 16th when I made my birdie and Michael bogeyed to fall two behind me.
“I still wasn’t relaxed after that and it could have all changed after I got that bad luck with my tee shot on the 18th, but I made a good par there to make sure that even if the other guys had birdied I would still have won, so it feels good to have won the way I did.”
Hoey and Warren ended the day in a tie for second, each winning €10,350, with 2002 Challenge Tour Number One Lee James of England in fourth place on 16 under and his compatriot Ross Fisher a further stroke behind in fifth position.
