Justin Walters misses out on maiden Tour title after being edged out by Hojgaard at second play-off hole
Sunday 30 August 2020 19:24, UK
Rasmus Hojgaard claimed his second European Tour title in just his 15th start after a dramatic final day of the ISPS Handa UK Championship..
Hojgaard added another honour to his remarkable rookie season and denied Justin Walters his maiden Tour title, edging out the South African at the second play-off hole, while Martin Kaymer was left to rue an ugly bogey-six at the 17th which scuppered his chances of a first victory in over six years.
The 17th was a decisive hole for Hojgaard, who followed up birdies at 14 and 16 with a brilliant eagle, the Danish teenager powering into the clubhouse lead with a 65 which lifted him to 14 under par.
Walters, who at 39 is 20 years' Hojgaard's senior, had held the lead since his opening 64 and looked poised to taste victory for the first time on the European Tour after following an early bogey with three straight birdies from the third.
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But Walters then got into trouble at the eighth and ran up a soul-destroying triple-bogey seven, and although he got one shot back at the 10th, he erred again at the 13th and left himself needing a huge finish to get back in contention.
He responded in valiant style, making three birdies over the next four holes before a bold birdie putt for the win wandered five feet past the cup at the last, but Walters managed to catch enough of the hole with his tentative par putt to complete a 70 and finish level with Hojgaard at the top of the final leaderboard.
The top two returned to the 18th tee for extra holes, and it was advantage Hojgaard when Walters pushed his second into the right rough and chipped to 10 feet, but he bravely nailed the putt to match the young Dane's par and extend the contest.
But Walter's then carved his tee shot into sand and semi-shanked his second from the trap, and he was not able to salvage par second time around as Hojgaard two-putted from the fringe for a cast-iron four which earned him his second European Tour title at the tender age of 19.
Kaymer kept himself in the hunt to end his barren run, although birdies at the second and seventh were scant reward for his ball-striking over the first 12 holes as he missed a number of excellent chances on the greens.
But, just as it appeared his cold putter would cost him, the former world No 1 birdied the 13th and 15th to jump into a tie for the lead with Hojgaard only to make a mess of the par-five penultimate hole.
Kaymer blocked his drive into the trees on the right and could not advance his ball far down the fairway, and he tugged his third into the fringe before getting heavy-handed with his pitch and racing it six feet past.
He missed the par putt to walk off with a bogey-six, although he gave himself a great chance to get into the play-off with a nice second to 12 feet at the last, but the birdie attempt slid past on the low side and his lengthy wait for a 24th professional title goes on.
Kaymer had to settle for a share of third with Benjamin Hebert, who produced one of the shots of the week at the sixth when he slam-dunked his 191-yard second straight into the cup for a spectacular eagle.
The Frenchman hit back from a bogey at 14 with birdies at 15 and 17, but he was also unable to close with a three and finished on 13 under, while Bernd Wiesberger atoned for Saturday's 73 with a superb 65 which he capped with four consecutive birdies.
The Austrian's grandstand finish propelled him into a tie for fifth on 12 under alongside Craig Howie, who matched Wiesberger's seven-birdie round, while England's Marcus Armitage (68) and Andy Sullivan (67), and Scotland's Calum Hill (66) all enjoyed top-10 finishes.
