John Parry wins Vivendi Cup

England's John Parry held off the chasing pack to win his first European Tour title in the Vivendi Cup at Golf de Joyenval near Paris.

John Parry
Fergus Bisset
By Fergus Bisset
published

England's John Parry held off the chasing pack to win his first European Tour title in the Vivendi Cup at Golf de Joyenval near Paris.

Parry took a one shot lead into the final round and he played a supremely solid closing 18 holes to finish two clear of Sweden's Johan Edfors and a further shot ahead of a group of five players.

"I felt nervous and just tried to control my emotions. I felt I was playing well, though, and my concentration was good," he said.

With the win the 23-year-old, who is nearing the end of his first full season on the European Tour, has secured his playing rights for a year. It's a weight off his shoulders as he went into this tournament in 116th place on the Race to Dubai standings, with only the top 115 to keep their cards.

"At least I know now what I am going to play in. It takes the pressure off," he said. "I thought I was good enough to win - it was just putting it all together."

Parry joins Rory McIlroy, Rhys Davies and David Horsey as members of the GB&I Walker Cup team of 2007 who have gone on to taste European Tour success.

Johan Edfors, who began the week with a scintillating 61, ended the tournament as Parry's closest challenger. The Swede finished alone in second, two shots behind the Englishman.

Padraig Harrington fired an excellent closing round of 64 to climb into a tie for eighth place. The Irishman looks to be coming into form just in time for next week's Ryder Cup.

Vivendi Cup 2010 Golf de Joyenval, Paris, France Sep 23-26, purse €1,250,000, par 72

1   John Parry (Eng)      64   67   70   70   271   €204,160 2   Johan Edfors (Swe)   61   74   67   71   273   €136,110 T3   Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 66 69 68   71   274   €53,900 T3   Robert-Jan Derksen (Ned) 66  69   68   71   274   €53,900 T3   Mark Haastrup (Den)   66   70   66   72   274   €53,900 T3   Soren Kjeldsen (Den)   65   70   69   70   274   €53,900 T3   Jarmo Sandelin (Swe)   65   66   72   71   274   €53,900 T8   Richard Green (Aus)   68   66   69   72   275   €26,276 T8   Padraig Harrington (Ire) 68   74   69   64   275   €26,276 T8   Pablo Larrazabal (Esp)   69   67   68   71   275   €26,276 T8   James Morrison (Eng)   66   68   73   68   275   €26,276

Note: Player name in bold signifies Titleist ball usage only

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. 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?

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