Peter Hanson wins BMW Masters

Sweden's Peter Hanson held off a late charge from World Number 1 Rory McIlroy to win the BMW Masters at the Lake Malaren Golf Club in Shanghai by a single stroke.

Peter Hanson wins BMW Masters (Getty Images)
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Sweden's Peter Hanson held off a late charge from World Number 1 Rory McIlroy to win the BMW Masters at the Lake Malaren Golf Club in Shanghai by a single stroke.

Hanson began the final round one clear of McIlroy and the Swede looked to have sealed the deal, four strokes clear with four to play.

But the young Northern Irishman wasn't finished. He made a fantastic eagle at the 15th then birdied the following hole to reduce the deficit to just two shots. When Hanson found sand from the tee at the short 17th, it looked as though there might be just one in it going down the last.

But the 35-year-old Ryder Cup star dug deep and saved par from the bunker, keeping his two shot cushion. He was to need it.

His approach shot to the closing hole clattered into the face of a bunker and appeared to plug. But Hanson was not given a free drop and he did well to pitch on to the green to give himself a 10-foot par effort.

When McIlroy missed for birdie from just off the back edge, Hanson had two putts to take the title. He used them both and the victory was his.

"It was a little bit tense," said Hanson. "Rory made a tremendous effort with his eagle on 15 and birdie on 16, so it put quite a bit of pressure on me. I was trying to play it a little bit safe but against the World Number One you still have to hit the shots. This is by far my biggest win in my career."

Two more of the European Ryder Cup heroes from Medinah, Luke Donald and Ian Poulter finished third and fourth respectively with Ireland's Shane Lowry in fifth.

Paul Casey continued his resurgence, closing with three straight 68s to end the week in a tie for sixth.

BMW Masters Lake Malaren Golf Club, Shanghai, China Oct 25-28, purse €5,373,000, par 72

1   Peter Hanson (Swe)   66   64   70   67   267   €888,561 2   Rory McIlroy (NIR)   67   65   69   67   268   €593,338 3   Luke Donald (Eng)   70   67   68   66   271   €333,762 4   Ian Poulter (Eng)      70   69   68   65   272   €268,792 5   Shane Lowry (Ire)   72   64   69   68   273   €226,367 T6   Paul Casey (Eng)      70   68   68   68   274   €141,899 T6   George Coetzee (RSA)   69   68   66   71   274   €141,899 T6   Alex Noren (Swe)      68   68   69   69   274   €141,899 T6   Louis Oosthuizen (RSA)   68   69   69   68   274   €141,899 T6   Justin Rose (Eng)      68   68   69   69   274   €141,899   

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage Where next? PGA Tour - Nick Watney wins CIMB Classic

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 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?

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