British Masters: Alex Noren savours third win of the season at The Grove
Sunday 16 October 2016 18:49, UK
Alex Noren declared himself a "happy and proud" British Masters champion after his third European Tour victory of the season at The Grove.
Noren survived a test of nerve on the final day as he clung onto to his overnight lead, but after bogeys at the eighth and 11th, he found himself tied at the top of the leaderboard when Bernd Wiesberger birdied the 15th in the group ahead.
But the in-form Swede recovered from a blocked drive at 15 to scramble an unlikely birdie, and a delightful pitch and putt for a closing four sealed a two-shot win which lifted him into the world's top 20, and he now stands fourth in the Race to Dubai standings with one event of the regular season remaining.
"It's an amazing feeling, honestly I never thought this would happen," said the 34-year-old, whose career looked in doubt just two years ago when he was able to play only two events due to serious wrist injuries.
"I had a tough time with the distances off my wedges and irons in the middle there and I was just trying to get it together. And then the last three and a half holes, I managed to play the best I played all week, so I'm really happy and proud about that.
"I believe in myself, but the big thing is you don't have to play a perfect game. You just need a few parts of your game to be strong to get a win. My putting was probably the best thing this week. I holed a lot of putts, and my chipping and wedge game was a lot better, so it helped me out.
"I've kind of worked on my whole game and not being too picky on hitting this and that shot and staying on the range for six hours, and coming home kind of devastated I'm not pulling the right shots off.
"I'm trying to look at it a little bit more long term and enjoy golf a bit more. I love playing golf and that's just how it should be, and not trying to put too much pressure on myself."
Scrambling a par at the 12th was a huge boost for Noren after he pushed his drive into the right rough and left himself blocked out from the green by a tree, but he managed to manufacture a superb low iron which cleared the water and rolled to within 20 feet of the pin.
"I hit the right shot off the tee and then I was by a root and I couldn't really chip out because I thought it would bounce too high," he added. "I said to my caddie, if I hit a low iron slice, at least I get it under this, and if it goes in the water, it goes in the water.
"But I really thought I could pull it off. And I'd rather hit that shot than a chip out that I didn't believe in, and then I would be really angry. If I hit it in the the water, then so be it. But I pulled it off, made a par, almost a birdie, and then I had a lot more fire in me after that."
