ISPS HANDA UK Championship report: Rasmus Hojgaard beats Justin Walters in play-off

Final leaderboard

-14 Hojgaard, Walters

-13 Kaymer, Hebert

-12 Howie, Wiesberger

-11 Campillo, Armitage

-10 Hill, Sullivan

Round four report

Danish teenager Rasmus Hojgaard defeated South Africa’s Justin Walters in a play-off at the ISPS Handa UK Championship to secure his second European Tour title.

Hojgaard won with a par on the second extra hole at The Belfry after he and overnight leader Walters had finished tied on 14 under par.

The 19-year-old fell two shots off the pace when he bogeyed the 12th, but birdied the 14th and 16th and holed from 10 feet for eagle on the 17th to complete a superb closing 65.

Walters, who began the day with a two-shot lead, ran up a triple-bogey seven on the eighth after hitting his tee shot out of bounds, but recovered superbly and birdied three of the last five holes to force a play-off.

The 39-year-old bravely holed from 10 feet for par on the first extra hole but was unable to repeat the feat from a similar distance at the second time of asking after carving his approach wide of the green from a fairway bunker.

Former world number one Martin Kaymer, a 25/1 each-way tip from Ben Coley pre-tournament, whose last win was the second of his two major titles in the 2014 US Open, had held the outright lead after his third birdie of the day on the 13th.

However, after lipping out for an eagle and tapping in for birdie on the 15th, Kaymer dropped his only shot of the day on the par-five 17th and was unable to hole from 15 feet on the last to join the play-off.

It was agonising day for Sporting Life followers as both Kaymer and Benjamin Hebert, tipped at 66/1 by Ben Coley at the start of the week, both finished just a shot off the pace on 13 under par.

Round three report

Martin Kaymer shot a third-round 66 to move into second place at the UK Championship, where Justin Walters remains the man to catch.

Walters has been in front ever since an opening 64, still the best round of the week, but it was two-time major winner Kaymer who defied tough conditions on Saturday to earn a place alongside him in the final group.

Asked if he felt it was a 66 day when he went out in breezy conditions, Kaymer said: “If you putt that way, yes.

“I was hitting the ball fairly fine over the last three days. I just needed one of those days where the putter is a little bit hot, and it was one of those days.”

Kaymer’s round included eight birdies, five of them on the back nine.

He added: “If you hit fairways, it was okay. They had some tricky pin positions, especially the front nine. Also on the front nine, you have some tough tee shots.

“Usually the fairways feel wide because there’s very little rough, so, even if you get in the rough, you still have a chance to get on the green without a problem.

“Overall, it was probably the toughest day even if they put some tee boxes – like on 10 – forward, but it was still tricky to create birdie chances sometimes with those tricky pin positions.”

Benjamin Hebert is tied with Kaymer in second place after a closing birdie, giving Sporting Life followers added interest having been advised pre-tournament along with Kaymer.

Walters remains out in front courtesy of a third-round 69, though it remains to be seen if he's left to rue a scrappy finish, failing to birdie the par-five 15th and 17th holes and lipping out with another chance at the last.

The South African made an ideal start, pouring in a birdie putt at the first and adding another at the third. His approach to the fourth then pitched next to the flag before spinning back some 70 feet which resulted in a three-putt bogey, his first dropped shot of the day.

Hebert made birdie at the same hole to close back within one, but bogeys at the sixth and eighth combined with a Walters birdie at the tricky seventh saw the gap widen to three as the Frenchman struggled to hit fairways.

Kaymer came alive with birdies at the seventh, ninth and 10th, before a short missed putt at the tricky 12th made it two dropped shots on the card, his other coming at the testing sixth.

The German responded brilliantly, birdies at the 13th, 14th and 15th holes sending him into second place and triggering hopes of a first victory since the 2014 US Open. A missed eagle try at the 17th still resulted in a further step forward as he reached 10-under, before narrowly missing with another good look at the last.

Walters kept the gap at two with a birdie at the 14th, his first since the seventh and enough to get back the shot he dropped when missing a short putt at the 11th. But he missed a short birdie putt at the 15th, was ragged down the 17th, and lipped out at the last as the chance to make his lead a commanding one slipped through his fingers.

He remains in the box seat and is hoping to make the most of his opportunity on Sunday.

He said: “It would be huge, there’s no lying about that. I’m 39 now, you wonder how many opportunities you will get going forward with all the youngsters coming through.

“Maybe like a good red wine, I’ll get better with age, but I don’t know. It would be nice to take advantage tomorrow.”

Hebert meanwhile started to hit better shots, taking care of the 15th where his eagle try missed only narrowly. He too failed to add another birdie at the 17th, but perhaps his best shot of the day yielded a birdie at the last to move alongside Kaymer and into a share of second.

This trio have daylight over the rest, with Rasmus Hojgaard, Marcus Armitage, Jorge Campillo and Laurie Canter all on seven-under, five back. The latter made his move with a best-of-the-day 65 whereas Armitage rallied after a double at the 11th, three birdies from there enough to keep his hopes of a first European Tour success alive.

With Hebert and Walters both seeking their own breakthroughs, it's Kaymer who is the most decorated player in contention. And yet the 35-year-old has not picked up silverware in more than six years, enough to all but guarantee a nervy Sunday at the Belfry.

Round two report

Justin Walters kept the clubhouse lead on another rain-hit day at the ISPS Handa UK Championship at The Belfry, ending his second round on nine under par.

Walters, who is seeking a first European Tour title, added a 71 to his opening 64, a shot ahead of France’s Benjamin Hebert - a 66/1 pre-tournament tip from Ben Coley - who is also yet to taste victory on Tour.

England’s Paul Waring, who has not played since the last week of February due to a combination of the coronavirus shutdown and a back injury which prevented him making his debut in the US PGA Championship earlier this month, posted the joint lowest score of the day.

The 35-year-old from Birkenhead showed few signs of rust in adding a 67 to his opening 70 to lie two shots back.

“I’d definitely take that with these conditions,” Waring, who won the Nordea Masters in 2018, said. “We got through 13 holes and then on the par three 14th got a massive gust downwind. From there it was quite tough coming in, we had a rain shower too so I’m pleased to finish the round off.

“The short game has been really tidy. When I have missed it I’ve made a really easy up and down and haven’t put myself under any pressure.

“I’m driving it quite nicely so everything is in play off the tee. I’m not chasing my tail, I’m plodding on and giving myself more chances than having to recover.

“I’ve found it’s best not to think. I try not to overthink anything. It’s a massive thing for me, overthinking. I’ve only come to see where my golf game is. I had no idea what shape it would be in. I feel like I’m free-wheeling it at the moment.

“It’s something I’ve been doing for the last few years, ever since I won in Sweden and had a good season last year. That’s one of the key things for me, not getting ahead of myself and letting whatever happens happen. I’ve built on that over the years and I’m just getting better at that.”

World number 30 Bernd Wiesberger double-bogeyed the 18th to lie three shots off the lead alongside New Zealand’s Ryan Fox and the English pair of Matthew Jordan and Marcus Armitage.

Jordan finished third in the ISPS Handa Wales Open last week but admitted: “I wouldn’t class last week as being in contention, I snuck up the leaderboard in the last round.

“I think it was playing well in the last couple of rounds (at Celtic Manor) that gave me confidence going into this week, so I can just attack it really.

“Just before lockdown started I put in three around 20th place finishes, so I was kind of progressing and starting to build. Then lockdown came and from then on I haven’t started the way I wanted to and I’ve been struggling, admittedly.

“From last week, it’s clicked a bit and I’ve found something. I just need to keep improving on that. I’ve certainly played like I know I can do.”

Round one report

An ecstatic Justin Walters claimed the clubhouse lead in the rain-delayed ISPS Handa UK Championship at The Belfry.

Walters carded six birdies and chipped in for an eagle on the 15th to card a superb eight-under-par 64, which was completed just as heavy rain began to fall on the former Ryder Cup venue.

That rain eventually led to play being halted due to flooding shortly after 2pm and the resulting four-hour delay meant the first round was not completed on schedule.

Walters was left to enjoy a three-shot lead over Bernd Wiesberger, Joel Sjoholm, Scott Vincent and Benjamin Hebert - a 66/1 pre-tournament tip from Ben Coley - with former world number one Martin Kaymer - another Ben Coley selection, this time at 25/1 - and the Scottish pair of Calum Hill and Craig Howie among an eight-strong group on four under par.

Walters had missed four cuts in five events on the European Tour’s UK Swing since golf returned from the coronavirus shutdown and feared he may have “peaked” during the pandemic.

“During the lockdown I was in North Carolina and I didn’t have to face any golf courses being closed, I could practice as normal,” the South African world number 393 added.

“I played a few mini tour events and played a fair amount of golf and actually played really good golf, so I almost feel like I peaked during lockdown.

“I came back out here and I was confident, I felt like I was going to have a good run and missed three cuts by one, made one cut and didn’t finish very high with that.

“It’s been really disappointing to say the least but that’s golf, every time you expect something from it, it shows you otherwise.

“I just changed my outlook a bit and freed it up, just accepting what happens. I felt like I was swinging really well and getting nothing out of it and when that happens you start to get a bit grumpy, expecting too much out of yourself.

“The little things were starting to annoying me and I thought you know what, it’s a beautiful day – well it was earlier – just go and play and see what the game brings you because you are playing well.

“A few putts started going in, a couple of good breaks where I hit a bad shot and got away with it and that’s been lacking. To result in a 64, I’m ecstatic.”

Wiesberger was one of a number of players to fall foul of the difficult 18th as the weather deteriorated, the world number 30 dropping his only shot of the day on the last in his 67.

“I would have taken the score beforehand, (but) I had phases out there where everything kind of went my way and I was scoring easily and the last four holes it kind of broke off and felt like I lost four shots on the field,” Wiesberger said.

“I’m coming off the course and not quite that happy, but all in all I’ve got to say it was a decent start.”

Ireland’s Brendan Lawlor, who is one of the world’s top disabled golfers, was one under par after three holes of his European Tour debut before eventually signing for an 84.

The 22-year-old, who is currently fourth in the World Rankings for Golfers with Disability, has a rare condition called Ellis-van Creveld syndrome, a disability characterised by a shorter stature and shorter limbs.