Thursday 11 August 2016 18:39, UK
Anthony Wall clinched his second European Tour title in his 489th start after edging out Alex Noren in a tense final at the Aberdeen Asset Management Paul Lawrie Match Play.
Wall hit back from losing the opening two holes in strong winds at Archerfield Links, taking the lead for the first time in the match on the 11th and matching the Swede shot for shot down the stretch to close out a 1up victory on the final green.
Noren was the overwhelming favourite heading into the final, and he got off to the perfect start as he rolled in a 10-footer for birdie at the first and drained a huge putt at the next for another winning birdie despite finding the trees from the tee and having to pitch out.
But Wall gave himself a huge lift with an excellent birdie putt of his own to pull a hole back at the next, and the veteran Englishman did well to save par from sand at the short fourth to stay one down.
Second seed Noren hit another poor drive at the long sixth and came up short with his third, running up a costly six which allowed Wall to level with a composed birdie, and he was a whisker away from another at the eighth.
Both bogeyed the ninth and parred the 10th before the match swung in Wall's favour at 11, the 41-year-old pitching to three feet and holing the chance after Noren's five-footer grazed the edge of the cup.
Noren missed a good chance to level at the next and Wall saved par with a superb bunker splash-out to tap-in range, and the Scottish Open champion mis-read another birdie putt from 12 feet at the 13th.
Wall's sublime bunker skills were again evident as he scrambled another clutch par at 14, and after a pair of pars at the 15th, the finalists both got up and down from just off the green to halve the 16th in birdie-threes.
Noren was convinced he had levelled the match on the 17th green as he raised his putter aloft with his ball tracking towards the hole, but the putt lipped out and Wall's cast-iron par kept him one in front heading down the last.
Noren, who had not played the par-five 18th all week, went for broke with his second and hit driver off the deck which came up just short of a pot bunker, and he pitched to nine feet after Wall's third found the heart of the green.
And after Wall safely two-putted for a rock-solid par, Noren's birdie effort to extend the match was the perfect pace but ran over the left edge of the hole to leave Wall celebrating his first win since lifting his maiden trophy at the Alfred Dunhill Championship - 16 years and 204 days previously.
Meanwhile, James Morrison was victorious in the third-place play-off against English compatriot Oliver Fisher with a comfortable 4&3 victory.
