Soren Kjeldsen wins Open de Andalucia

Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen won the Open de Andalucia de Golf 09 at Real Club de Golf de Sevilla by three shots from David Drysdale of Scotland.

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  It was a second win in Spain for the Dane who captured last year’s, season-ending, Volvo Masters at Valderrama. But, this victory was not as straightforward as the final leaderboard would suggest.

Kjeldsen and Drysdale were level through 15 holes and, when Kjeldsen found the water with his second shot at the par-5 16th, it looked as though the Scot would take an advantage into the closing two holes.

But, Kjeldsen dug deep and made a fabulous up-and-down from 100 yards to save par and stay on terms. Drysdale then found the bunker on the par-3 17th and failed to save par. To exacerbate Drysdale’s problems, Kjeldsen holed an excellent 20-foot putt for a birdie two.

So Kjeldsen took a two stroke lead into the final hole and, when Drysdale found the water with his approach, the contest was over. The 33-year-old had the luxury of being able to three-putt the final green and still win by three shots.

“I felt like I was giving it away after a horrific shot on 16 but I had to grit my teeth and it was great to make that putt there and play 17 the way I did.” Said Kjeldsen.

Drysdale holed a two-foot putt on the last to hold on to sole possession of second place.

“It was quite a good battle and it's just a shame not to hit any decent shots when I really needed to.” He said. “I hit poor tee shots on 16, 17 and 18. When you have to hit the fairways I started missing them.”

The Scot can console himself with the fact his cheque for €110,110 should spare him an 11th visit to qualifying school at the end of the season.

Kjeldsen moves to 42nd on the Official World Golf Ranking and now heads for his first start in the US Masters.

Open de Andalucia de Golf 09 Real Club de Golf de Sevilla, Spain Mar 26-29, purse €998,170, par 72

1    Soren Kjeldsen (Den)    68    72    62    72    274    €166,660 2    David Drysdale (Sco)    70    67    66    74    277    €111,110 T3    Francesco Molinari (Ita)    72    68    68    70    278    €56,300 T3    Graeme Storm (Eng)    70    66    73    69    278    €56,300 5    Alastair Forsyth (Sco)    74    64    68    73    279    €42,400 T6    Andrew Coltart (Sco)    68    73    69    70    280    €30,000 T6    Rhys Davies (Wal)    75    67    68    70    280    €30,000 T6    Marcel Siem (Ger)    68    67    73    72    280    €30,000 T9    Thomas Aiken (RSA)    70    72    69    70    281    €21,200 T9    John E Morgan (Eng)    70    73    69    69    281    €21,200

Note: Players in bold signifies Titleist ball usage only

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