Joost Luiten (-14) held his composure on the 18th hole at the Celtic Manor Resort to beat Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood by one stroke in possibly the last Wales Open. It was the Dutchman's 4th European Tour win and he continues a very solid season, in which he now has a win and six other top-10s. The win should propel him to somewhere around the mid-30s in the Official World Golf Rankings. The 28-year-old was in contention for a Ryder Cup spot but I firmly expect him to be on the 2016 team.
Lowry shot one-under today and Fleetwood looked completely out of it before he made his way to the back nine, but shot 30 to finish tied-2nd. He'll be sickened at the double-bogey he made on the par-3 12th hole, but it's another great week for the young Englishman.
Sadly, this is the last time the 2010 Ryder Cup course will host the Wales Open, at least for the for the foreseeable future. Tournaments in Britain are always top-class, but maybe that means a tournament in England will make its way onto the 2015 schedule. The Wales Open could still be held next year, but on a different course. We'll have to wait and see.
Several players stepped up who needed big weeks for either keeping their card or moving closer to the top-60 in the Race to Dubai. Nicolas Colsaerts finished tied-4th and will look to continue that form in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in just under two weeks. Robert Rock closed with a 65 to finish tied-9th and, from all accounts, it has been a long time coming. Andrea Pavan, sitting 139th in the Race to Dubai before the event, also finished T9 and needs one or two decent week to secure his playing privileges for next season (the top-110 on the Race to Dubai have full playing rights for the following season). The English duo of Anthony Wall (108th on R2D) and Steve Webster (109th on R2D) finished in a tie for 12th to cap off good weeks.
Updated Race to Dubai rankings for above players:
Luiten (10th)
Lowry (14th)
Fleetwood (30th)
Colsaerts (77th)
Rock (96th)
Pavan (120th)
Wall (98th)
Webster (99th)
Four European Ryder Cup team members took part in the event this week, with very mixed results. Jamie Donaldson was the highest finisher in his home open with a T4. Thomas Bjorn finished T58, but sounded upbeat about his game in his post-round interview. Lee Westwood finished T60 and he is clearly the weakest link on the European side so it'll be interesting to see how much Captain Paul McGinley plays him. Stephen Gallacher missed the cut after rounds of 78 and 70 but his mind was probably more on next week. I think "Stevie G" is going to be a real dark horse and will be inspired by the home fans.
The golfing world shifts its focus to Gleneagles for next week's Ryder Cup, an event that I have been looking forward to since that epic Sunday at Medinah in 2012. It is my favorite sporting event and I cannot wait to watch both teams battle it out over the three days. In the United States, coverage begins at 2:30 AM on Friday so I'll be looking to get some extra sleep in the days leading up to the competition. I'll plan on providing blog entries throughout the week
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