Australian Richard Green carded a
seven-under 65 on Sunday to come from behind and capture the
Portugal
Masters.
Green finished the championship at 18-under 270 and earned a
two-stroke
victory at Oceanico Victoria Golf Course. His seven-shot
comeback matched the
largest on the European Tour this season.
"I felt I needed the best round of golf I could play," Green
said in a
televised interview. "In the end, it was a strange finish for
me, but good
enough. A win is a win."
Green bogeyed two of his last three holes, but he was right, it
was a strange
finish.
Francesco Molinari fired his second 10-under 62 of the week on
Sunday, but it
was only enough to share second place. Molinari paired his
two 62s with two
74s and tied for second with Robert Karlsson (67), Gonzalo
Fernandez-Castano
(68) and Joost Luiten (69). The group finished at
minus-16.
Third-round leader Pablo Martin was in good shape even after a
double-bogey at
the sixth. He shared the lead after a birdie at 12, but three
bogeys in a
four-hole span dropped him down the leaderboard. Martin was
one back after a
birdie at 17, but he badly pulled his drive into the water on
the last and
double-bogeyed the hole.
Martin shot a three-over 75 and tied for sixth with David Dixon
(67) and Peter
Lawrie (69) at 15-under 273.
Green flew out of the gate on Sunday with four consecutive
birdies from the
second hole. He bogeyed No. 7, but birdied three in a row
after that, capped
by a 12-foot birdie putt at the 10th.
Green bogeyed 11 and after Martin birdied the fifth, Martin was
four strokes
ahead.
Things changed at the seventh. Martin drove into the water and
walked off with
a double-bogey. Green birdied 12 and 13 to tie Martin for
first, then sank a
12-footer for birdie at 14 to move in front by a stroke.
Green birdied the 15th and was two ahead, but when he missed the
green at 16
and chunked his chip, he bogeyed the hole to cut his lead in
half. He three-
putted the last green for another bogey, but got into the
clubhouse at 18-
under par.
Martin was tied for the lead after a birdie at 12 and a bogey at
13. He pulled
his approach left at the 15th and left his pitch nine feet
short. Martin's par
putt stayed above ground and his short game abandoned him
once again.
At the par-three 16th, Martin missed the green and his chip
stopped 15 feet
shy of the flag stick. He made bogey and was two behind with
just two to play.
Martin reached the par-five 17th green in two and had a decent
look at eagle.
His 25-footer never threatened the hole, but he converted the
three-foot
birdie putt to get within one.
Any hope of catching Green was dashed pretty quickly. Martin hit
a terrible
drive 30 yards left of the fairway and into the water. He
made double on the
hole and Green collected his third European Tour victory.
"It's up there with all of them," said Green, who won the 2007
BA-CA Golf Open
and defeated Greg Norman and Ian Woosnam in a playoff at the
1997 Dubai Desert
Classic. "It's pretty awesome."
Fredrik Andersson Hed (67), Gary Boyd (69), Steven O'Hara (69),
Ignacio
Garrido (69), Thongchai Jaidee (70), Charl Schwartzel (70),
Mikko Ilonen (72)
and Oliver Wilson (73) shared ninth at 14-under 274.
NOTES: Next week is the Castello Masters, which was won last
year by Michael
Jonzon.
