Felipe Aguilar wins The Championship at Laguna National

published 4 May 2014

Felipe Aguilar of Chile produced a remarkable finish to win The Championship at Laguna National by a single shot from Denmark’s Anders Hansen and David Lipsky of the USA.

Felipe Aguilar of Chile produced a remarkable finish to win The Championship at Laguna National by a single shot from Denmark’s Anders Hansen and David Lipsky of the USA.

Aguilar holed a tricky putt for a birdie two at the testing par-3 17th, with its daunting peninsula green. He then holed his second shot to the 18th to come home in 28 strokes and post a four-round total of 22-under-par that those following were unable to match.

“Yesterday I didn’t have a good round and you figure that you’re so far back that you have no chance,” said Aguilar, who shot 72 on Saturday. “But today after the front nine I shot two under, I knew I had to go deep so I went for every single pin.

“Eight under on the back nine to win is pretty strong. I was right in between clubs on the 18th and, with the adrenaline, you don’t want to hit a half shot. So I took a hard pitching wedge and it went in – it was very special finishing like that.”

Anders Hansen shared the 54 hole lead with Panuphol Pittayarat of Thailand, but he opened his account on Sunday with a bogey. Undeterred, he bounced back and opened a four-shot lead with birdies at the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th holes.

It looked as though the 43-year-old Dane would cruise to victory, still three clear of Aguilar and David Lipsky through 12 holes. But Aguilar then produced his remarkable finish and, when Hansen bogeyed the 16th, he found himself one behind with two to play.

He couldn’t find another birdie and the title went to Aguilar.

“What can you say? It’s just one of those days,” said Hansen. “He played well obviously, although I thought I played well too. I can’t really blame myself.”

The win was Aguilar’s first since the 2008 Indonesia Open. The Chilean has played in 166 European Tour events since that last victory.

The Championship at Laguna National Laguna National G&CC, Tampines, Singapore May 1-4, purse €1,100,000, par 72

1 Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 65 67 72 62 266 €180,531 T2 David Lipsky (USA) 64 68 70 65 267 €94,078 T2 Anders Hansen (Den) 67 66 67 67 267 €94,078 4 Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 66 67 71 65 269 €54,159 5 Chris Wood (Eng) 68 67 68 67 270 €45,927 T6 Anirban Lahiri (Ind) 67 70 68 66 271 €35,203 T6 Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 66 70 67 68 271 €35,203 T8 David Drysdale (Sco) 68 70 70 65 273 €24,335 T8 Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 69 70 68 66 273 €24,335 T8 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng) 68 67 69 69 273 €24,335

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage

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Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?