AUSTRALIAN Peter Fowler, playing five holes from the ninth in six
under par, shot a superb 63 in the final round yesterday to win the BMW
International Open at Munich, his first victory on the European Tour.
Fowler came from three strokes behind to win by three shots from
overnight leader Ian Woosnam, in a 21-under-par aggregate of 267. Scot
Gary Orr finished in joint-third place on 271.
Orr, like Fowler, is Surrey-based and the Scot looked a possible
winner when he reached the turn in 32, at which point he was two shots
clear of both Fowler and Woosnam. But he bogeyed both the tenth and
sixteenth to fall away, though he recovered with a birdie 2 at the
seventeenth.
The 26-year-old Scot had moved up with a six-under-par 66 in the third
round, with four putts of more than 15 feet, including two monsters, and
three more from between eight and 10 feet.
Woosnam was round in a three-under 69 yesterday for 270 despite
missing three four-foot putts and, though disappointed with second
place, he jumped from seventeenth to tenth in the Ryder Cup points
table.
Anders Forsbrand, who finished joint third with Orr, Bernhard Langer,
and Peter Mitchell, advanced three places to eleventh in the cup table
and, with Joakim Haeggman, seventh yesterday on 272, moving to twelfth
spot, Sweden might well be represented in the Cup for the first time
next month.
Fowler, who has finished second six times on the European Tour, said:
''It's good to get the first win out of the way. Then people do not ask
you when you are going to win.''
He birdied the first hole and bogeyed the second before two birdies at
the fifth and sixth ''kicked him along a bit.'' But it was his run from
the ninth that clinched his first Tour victory.
Fowler hit the stick at the long ninth with a No.3-wood approach and
holed from three feet for an eagle 3, then had four birdies on the trot
to go into a two-shot lead.
Woosnam, who tomorrow is off to the US PGA championship, said: ''You
can't do much about a round of 63 but I should have won this tournament,
because I missed so many putts all week. I'm so tentative on the greens.
I putted cack-handed all day today and it was a little bit better but
not much.''
However, the Welshman was pleased with his Ryder Cup advance. ''It
should make Bernard Gallacher a little happier,'' he said.
Leading aggregates (British and Irish unless stated):
267 -- P Fowler (Australia) 67, 69, 68, 63 (#83,330).
270 -- I Woosnam 65, 68, 68, 69 (#55,550).
271 -- B Langer (Germany) 66, 69, 70, 66; A Forsbrand (Sweden) 71, 67,
68, 65; P Mitchell 69, 66, 69, 67; G Orr 67, 69, 66, 69 (#23,750 each).
272 -- J Haeggman (Sweden) 68, 66, 69, 69 (#15,000).
273 -- M McNulty (Zimbabwe) 66, 70, 69, 68 (#12,500).
274 -- D W Basson (South Africa) 66, 68, 70, 70 (#11,150).
275 -- J Parnevik (Sweden) 68, 72, 67, 68; J Quiros (Spain) 67, 70,
69, 69 (#9595).
276 -- M-A Jimenez (Spain) 70, 69, 71, 66; S Grappasonni (Italy) 68,
69, 73, 66; D A Russell 66, 72, 69, 69; D Ray 64, 72, 69, 71; M James
64, 72, 68, 72.
277 -- N Henke (USA) 69, 70, 70, 68; A Gillner (Sweden) 69, 69, 70,
69.
Others included:
278 -- R Rafferty 68, 71, 71, 68; M Roe 71, 70, 69, 68; P Lawrie 66,
70, 72, 70; R McFarlane 68, 70, 70, 70.
279 -- M Miller 68, 70, 72, 69; M Sunesson (Sweden) 68, 73, 70, 68; A
Coltart 67, 70, 72, 70; P Broadhurst 68, 72, 69, 70; B Marchbank 66, 69,
73, 71; S Little 67, 70, 71, 71; J Robinson 65, 72, 70, 72.
280 -- C Williams 68, 73, 71, 68; M McLean 73, 68, 68, 71.
281 -- D Feherty 69, 69, 73, 70; R Lee, 70, 68, 70, 73.
282 -- P Mayo, 72, 69, 72, 69; S Watson, 71, 68, 73, 70; J Evans 69,
72, 69, 72.
283 -- R Claydon 69, 72, 72, 70; T Purtzer (USA) 70, 70, 71, 72; D
Gilford 68, 70, 69, 76.
284 -- P O'Malley (Australia) 71, 70, 73, 70; P Affleck, 71, 70, 73,
70; J McHenry 66, 74, 73, 71; P Baker, 70, 71, 68, 75.
286 -- G J Brand, 70, 71, 72, 73; J Sewell, 71, 68, 71, 76.
288 -- D Williams, 70, 71, 73, 74.
293 -- M Mackenzie, 71, 69, 79, 74.
* LEADING positions in the European Ryder Cup points table after the
BMW International Open:
1, N Faldo 513,022; 2, C Montgomerie 451,988; 3, B Langer (Germany)
412,109; 4, B Lane 365,723; 5, M James 339,805; 6, S Torrance 325,929;
7, C Rocca (Italy) 304,597; 8, P Baker 299,279; 9, J-M Olazabal (Spain)
282,488; 10, I Woosnam 274,938; 11, A Forsbrand (Swe) 261,223; 12, J
Haeggman (Sweden) 256,577; 13, M Roe 254,106; 14, P Broadhurst 251,525;
15, S Richardson 244,314; 16, J Spence 241,093; 17, G Brand, Jr 227,134;
18, J Parnevik (Sweden) 216,483; 19, D Gilford 215,839; 20, J Payne
212,682.
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