Final Day Report
Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl upstaged his more celebrated playing partners, Nick Dougherty and Ignacio Garrido, to land The 2009 Celtic Manor Wales Open and its £300,000 first prize.
The trio had started the day in a share of the lead at five under par but it was Huldahl who produced a sparkling, bogey-free final round of 67 to reach nine under and beat Sweden’s Niclas Fasth by a single stroke.
The 26-year-old Challenge Tour graduate had four birdies but he revealed that scrambled pars at the first two holes settled his early nerves and paved the way for his maiden European Tour victory.
“This weekend was amazing,” he said. “I did not put a foot wrong out there.
“You’re hoping for it and dreaming of it but I wasn’t expecting to win this soon to be honest.
“Monty may have to give me a wild card now,” he added, when asked if he harboured ambitions of playing The Ryder Cup on the same Twenty Ten Course next year.
“The way the course held up with all the rain was amazing, the greens were still great.”
Another inch of rain fell overnight to add to the inch and a half the previous night and morning but the hard-working greenkeeping staff ensured there were no further delays on Sunday after all but two holes for one group of Saturday’s play was completed following a lengthy delay.
As the clouds gave way to glorious sunshine during the final afternoon, Fasth pushed Huldahl all the way with a great round of 66 but bogeys on the 16th and 17th proved costly while Garrido maintained his challenge to finish third, another shot behind on seven under par.
Dougherty had a day he would rather forget to sign for a 79 and finish way down the pack on three over par but fellow Englishmen Danny Willett and Gary Lockerbie shared fourth place after rounds of 67 and 65 respectively.
Royal Porthcawl’s Rhys Davies, playing on a sponsor’s invite, was the leading Welshman on two under par.
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