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Edoardo Molinari birdied the last three holes to win the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles
The 29 year old Italian was two behind Australian Brett Rumford with three holes to play. He then two-putted the long 16th, sank a curling 30 footer at the 194 yard 17th and then hit a chip to within 18 inches of the final hole. “Playing on 16, I thought I was one behind, and I had two par fives to play and thought that I still had a chance to win the tournament if I make two birdies in the last three,” said Molinari. “So I was playing very well and I knew I could do it and when I got on to the 16th tee and hit a great second shot I thought I had a great possibility. “I knew I had to do two birdies on the last three at least to tie him and I had a big putt on 16, I think that was very important. And I hit it safely on the green on 17, and just before I hit the putt, Colin, my caddie told me I was owed a putt, because I hit a lot of good putts today that didn't go in, and he was right, because it went right in the divot and it was a difficult putt, as well. “And then playing the last, I played a nice second shot, and made a great chip, again. Colin, he is the winner this week, not me, because we spent probably more time this week on the chipping than in the last six months. I started working with him three tournaments ago, at Bridgestone in the States, and I think he's the best caddie.” Molinari, who won the Barclays Scottish Open and with his brother Francesco gave Italy their first-ever Omega Mission Hills World Cup victory last year, was then left to wait to see if he would receive one of Captain Colin Montgomerie’s Ryder Cup wildcards. Molinari's latest triumph, which left him an agonising one point short of gaining automatic selection off the world points list, came with a one under par 71 in the windy conditions. In the past year the Turin golfer has climbed from The Challenge Tour into the top 20 of The Official World Golf Ranking, took the €282,773 first prize with a ten under par total of 278. Rumford was second and then two shots further back were Spaniard Miguel Angel Jiménez, Welshman Jamie Donaldson and Molinari's brother, who had been the overnight leader and was still in with a chance until he closed with a bogey six. Jiménez and Swede Peter Hanson were able to start celebrating without waiting for Captain Montgomerie's decision an hour later. They did what they had to do to clinch the final two automatic spots for The Celtic Manor Resort on October 1-3, while Simon Dyson, who began the week hoping that a win would get him into the side, finished sixth. Jiménez needed a top nine finish to make sure and was joint third, while Hanson required top 43 and was 19th.
Champions Hedblom and Havret look
forward to Gleneagles Peter Hedblom and Grégory Havret, the 2009 and 2008 Champions, have confirmed they will play in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, 26th to 29th August 2010, both seeking to win the Championship for a second time. Hedblom secured his sixth career victory at the Championship last year with spectacular five under par 67 and, after a lacklustre start to the season, is looking forward to returning to defend his title. He explained, “Last year I had a similar start to the season and until the week before the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles I hadn’t had a single top 30 finish. I lost in a play off the week before and then things just clicked for me when I arrived at Gleneagles. It is a very special place and I always look forward to returning and I will go all out to defend my title. I think the field will be unbelievably strong this year as it is the final qualifying event for the European Ryder Cup team and everyone is trying to make one final attempt to qualify or to catch Monty’s eye for a captain’s pick!” The 2008 Champion, Grégory Havret, finished second at the US Open last week with an impressive final round 72, three shots better than his playing partner Tiger Woods. Havret has jumped up the rankings from No.391 to No.104 and is looking forward to the rest of the season with his eye firmly on a place in the European Ryder Cup team. He explained, “Finishing second was a big surprise but a big disappointment too as I was in a great position. However, I take a lot of positives out of my performance and feel I played very well and handled the pressure. I am pleased overall with the way I handled it and obviously it has given me a real boost towards my goal of qualifying for the European Ryder Cup team. With only ten weeks to go, every point is going to count and I think for many players it will come down to the final week at Gleneagles. I have played well at Gleneagles over the past couple of years so hopefully it will be a great week for me.“ Tournament Chairman Colin Montgomerie commented, “ Last week was a fantastic week for European golf with Graeme and Grégory finishing at the top of the leaderboard. While Graeme came out on top, Grégory also showed he can handle the pressure of being in contention at a Major Championship and was unaffected by the final day pairing with Tiger Woods. The way he handled himself and the way he putted really impressed me. The PGA Centenary Course obviously really suits Grégory having won the Championship in 2008 and then finishing third in 2009 so he will be hoping for a great week. It is going to be a fascinating week as so many players jostle for position on the Ranking tables.” Previous winners of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles include England’s Warren Bennett in 1999 and his fellow countryman Paul Casey who, to date, is the only player to have won the tournament on two occasions (2001 and 2006). They are joined on the Roll of Honour by Sweden’s Pierre Fulke (2000), Australia’s Adam Scott (2002), Denmark’s Søren Kjeldsen (2003), England’s Miles Tunnicliff (2004) and Italy’s Emanuele Canonica (2005). The only Scot to have his name on the trophy to date is Marc Warren who triumphed in 2007. This year’s winner will receive a cheque for £233,330 from a total prize fund of £1,400,000 as the players compete over The PGA Centenary Course, venue for the 2014 Ryder Cup. The Championship has secured the services of IMG, the world’s leading sports, entertainment and media company, to stage the tournament as they look to build on the heritage and prestige of the tournament and continue to raise it’s profile on the global stage. Tickets for the Johnnie Walker Championship are priced from £22 for a daily ticket to £45 for a season ticket and are available at the gate. Normal concessions apply. Car parking is free. For full details please visit www.europeantourtickets.com -ends- Further information: Johnnie Walker Championship & The Gleneagles Hotel IMG European Tour: Note to Editors: As a future Ryder Cup venue, Gleneagles is continuing to make significant investment in its golf courses. In 2010 it has become the only golf course in the UK to own a Gwazae Ground Probe Aeriation machine. This machine shatters the compacted soil and improves the drainage and soil structure. About Diageo Diageo is a global company, trading in more than 180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE). For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com. Celebrating life, every day, everywhere. About IMG Sports & Entertainment EYES OF THE GOLFING WORLD SET TO FOCUS ON GLENEAGLES Having hosted the highest profile global events, Gleneagles® is used to being in the spotlight. On Sunday August 29, 2010, however, it is the eyes of the golfing world which will be gazing on it. Following the completion of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, The PGA Centenary Course will then become the stage for Colin Montgomerie to finalise his Team for the 2010 Ryder Cup at The Celtic Manor Resort. As event Chairman, Montgomerie is a strong supporter of the Johnnie Walker Championship having participated every year since 2003 when he finished fourth, as he did again in 2006. He said: “As Chairman of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, I am delighted that our tournament and Gleneagles, the host of The 2014 Ryder Cup, will play such a vital role on The European Tour members’ schedules this year. It is particularly apt that the final chance for the players to make their mark for The 2010 Ryder Cup takes place at Gleneagles - Europe’s next Ryder Cup venue following Wales - and I hope the field this year will be stronger than ever. “There are a lot of players in the mix for the Team who all have a very real chance of claiming one of the nine qualifying spots. This will make for an extremely exciting week. The home fans will enjoy the possibility of another Scottish winner in 2010. Paul Lawrie, Marc Warren - a former champion here and Richie Ramsay, who won earlier this seasonin South Africa, are just three of the many Scots who are expected to be in the field this year.’ Graeme Marchbank, Tournament Director and Head of Corporate Sponsorship at Diageo, said: “We are delighted that our Championship Chairman Colin Montgomerie will play in this year’s event. His commitment and presence each year definitely adds to the stature of the tournament which this year will have a double focus for him as Ryder Cup Captain. ‘With final Ryder Cup points at stake, it’s going to be an especially exciting event for players and spectators alike. We know the players and their families love coming to Gleneagles and enjoy the welcome they get from the Scottish crowds. Bernard Murphy, General Manager of the five star resort said: ‘This is a busy year for golf at Gleneagles starting with the Johnnie Walker Championship in August, followed by the Junior Ryder Cup in September and the Scottish PGA Championship in October. ‘Our preparations are going well. As the host venue for the 2014 Ryder Cup we have a five year plan and we’re pleased with the progress on the development of The PGA Centenary Course. The stage is set for some exciting and challenging golf.’ Previous winners of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles include England’s Warren Bennett in 1999 and his fellow countryman Paul Casey who, to date, is the only player to have won the tournament on two occasions (2001 and 2006). They are joined on the Roll of Honour by Sweden’s Pierre Fulke (2000), Australia’s Adam Scott (2002), Denmark’s Søren Kjeldsen (2003), England’s Miles Tunnicliff (2004), Italy’s Emanuele Canonica (2005) and Grégory Havret of France (2008). The only Scot to have his name on the trophy to date is Marc Warren who triumphed in 2007, while the defending champion in August will be Sweden’s Peter Hedblom. Aside from a European Tour exemption until the end of the 2012 season, the winner of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles will receive a cheque for £233,330 from an overall prize fund of £1,400,000. Tickets for the Johnnie Walker Championship are priced from £22 for a daily ticket to £45 for a season ticket and are available at the gate. Normal concessions apply. Car parking is free. For full details please visit www.europeantourtickets.com -ends- Further information: For European Tour: Note to Editors: As a future Ryder Cup venue, Gleneagles is continuing to make significant investment in its golf courses. In 2010 it has become the only golf course in the UK to own a Gwazae Ground Probe Aeriation machine. This machine shatters the compacted soil and improves the drainage and soil structure. HAVRET TAKES JOHNNIE WALKER TITLE AS EVENT BREAKS The Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles broke new ground when the event became the first Ryder Cup venue at which a Ryder Cup Team was announced . Following the final putt and Gregory Havret being crowned the 2008 Johnnie Walker Champion, Nick Faldo formally announced his two captain’s picks for the European Team playing at Valhala CG in Louisville, Kentucky later this month. Gregory Havret described it as a ‘tough day’ after getting up and down from the bunker at 18 to sneak victory in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. Frenchman Havret won by a shot from England’s Graeme Storm after a round of 70 gave him a 14 under par total. After winning, Havret who won last year at Loch Lomond, said it was definitely a tough day. ‘I just love playing here in Scotland. I always did but it’s even bigger for me now having won here twice’. Rain stopped play for a short time during the £1.4m event which had a crowd of over 33,000. MARC WARREN WINS THE JOHNNIE WALKER CHAMPIONSHIP Marc Warren birdied the second play-off hole to beat England’s Simon Wakefield and give the Scottish public the home victory they craved in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. Warren two-putted from 90 feet for a four after the pair had parred the 18th first time around. To scenes of wild enthusiasm, the Scot claimed his second European Tour success and his first on home soil after he and Wakefield had finished tied on 280, 12 under par. His 69 to Wakefield’s 70 saw them finish one stroke ahead of Denmark’s Søren Hansen and Martin Erlandsson of Sweden at the end of a thrilling final day in front of record crowds amid the rolling Perthshire hills. Warren was forced to hole a testing eight footer for a birdie in regulation play to get into the play-off, having dropped a shot at the 17th. Wakefield was unable to get down in two from the front of the green and the stage was set for a sudden-death play-off. After two regulation fives, it was Warren who seized the initiative second time around, booming a huge three wood second onto the front edge of the green. His 30 yard putt finished up three feet away and with Wakefield safely down in five, the Scot rapped in his winning putt to set up a massive roar followed by the skirl of the bagpipes as he was piped onto the green to receive his trophy. Victory - the first by a Scot in the event - carried Warren past the €1 million mark in prizemoney in just his 69th start on The European Tour and his win was his second after a play-off. Just over 12 months ago, he defeated Robert Karlsson in Sweden to win the Scandinavian Masters. On that occasion, Karlsson carried the home support. This time there was no doubting who the galleries wanted to win. He admitted: “It doesn’t get any better. It’s a dream come true. To win in Scotland is overwhelming. Victories don’t sink in very quickly and I think this one will take a bit of time to register.” Warren admitted that he may have repaid the sponsor, Diageo, who had helped him with invitations to the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles when he was a rookie professional on the European Challenge Tour. “Hopefully I’ve been able to pay them back for that support” he said. “There’s not doubt it helped me massively. I was able to come back again this year and knew the course well and with more experience behind me.” The win moved Warren to 34th on the Order of Merit and left Wakefield disappointed but not deflated. The long-time leader played solidly all day and barely put a foot wrong. In the final analysis, Warren’s two birdies at the 18th in regulation play and in the play-off proved the deciding factors. “I felt comfortable all day” he said. “I don’t remember any really bad shots. I took the advice of my manager, Chubby Chandler, and played for the middle of the greens and let other make mistakes. I didn’t change that game plan all day and I feel quite proud of how I played all week.” Hansen had a five footer to get to 12 under par but saw his effort slip past while Erlandsson’s closing 66 took him agonisingly close to the play-off as well. Behind the scenesWant to know what effort really goes into mounting a tournament like this Johnnie Walker Championship? Then think iceberg. What you see all around you, the course, the hotel, the tented village represents about one tenth of the activity involved in mounting such a prestigious event. Around 100 people are directly concerned with the setting up and maintenance of this championship, but add on the hotel staff and others who contribute to its smooth running and the total number comes to well over 600. Heading up this team in Graeme Marchbank, Events and Sponsorship Manager, Diageo. For four years now Marchbank has been officially connected to this grand estate, but really Gleneagles has been embroidered into his life – his father Ian was the golf professional for 30 years. ‘I couldn't work at a better place or with a better team,’ he says. ‘The Johnnie Walker Championship lasts a week but the planning of it, the worrying about it, covers at least 10 months a year. ‘But it's fun and hugely satisfying. It’s no problem motivating people to work very hard to put on a good show. Everyone, no matter what their involvement, enjoys the 'hit' we all get from staging it and seeing it grow more successful each year. ‘If there is a problem, it is the days immediately after the championship that can be hard for those of us who have been running off adrenalin and working 25 hours a day leading up to it. That's the really difficult bit.’ And then there is the occasional drama. Like the night the big wind blew in, smacked the doors open on all the marquees and threatened to lift the hospitality units into a leaden sky. The weather is a worry because in Scotland, as you may have noticed, spring sometimes doesn't arrive until what is technically mid-summer and even then it occasionally comes with a hint of winter about it. The problem here is encouraging the sort of growth in the ground that allows Gleneagles’ expert greenkeeping staff to prepare a course worthy of some of Europe's finest golfers. Somehow, no matter what perverse nature decides, they manage this trick wonderfully well.
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Edoardo Molinari birdied the last three holes to win the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
