Belgium survives late wobble to claim title
MELBOURNE: Thomas Pieters and Thomas Detry won the World Cup of Golf by three strokes in Melbourne yesterday to secure Belgium’s first title triumph in the team event after surviving a late wobble and a charge from host Australia.
Overnight leaders by five strokes, the former University of Illinois teammates bogeyed the 15th to see their lead shrink to just two shots during the final foursomes round at Metropolitan Golf Club.
However, they held their nerve over the closing holes and finished in style with a birdie on the 18th to claim their biggest tournament win at the 28nation event.
‘‘Now it’s kind of like a dream come true,’’ 25yearold Detry told reporters, a Belgium flag draped around his neck.
‘‘There’s nothing like representing your country on the other side of the world.’’
Detry celebrated his first big victory, having never won on the world’s leading circuits, while 26yearold compatriot Pieters claimed his first PGA Tour title after three wins in Europe.
Their final round 4under 68 left them with a 23under total of 265, three clear of joint runnersup Australia (65) and Mexico (66).
Australian hopes Marc Leish man and Cameron Smith started the day six back but mounted a brave challenge to pull within two when the latter holed a brilliant, long bunker shot at the 14th.
Playing in the final group behind, Pieters responded with a 1.2m birdie putt at the same hole to push Belgium’s lead back to three, but Detry opened the door again, nervously lipping out a 90cm par putt on the 15th.
With Belgium wobbling, Leishman had a chance to slice the lead to a stroke, but blew a birdie putt from 1.2m.
It proved decisive, as Belgium steadied with a birdie on the same hole and the threestroke cushion was enough to absorb a final bogey on 17.
‘‘Obviously there was a putt on 16 which I wish I’d made,’’ world No 21 Leishman said.
‘‘It was a pretty bad putt actually . . . That’s one I’d like to have again.
‘‘I think Belgium was clearly the best team all week. They were just too good.’’
Abraham Ancer, who blitzed the field to win the Australian Open by five strokes in Sydney last week, finished a fine trip down under with Roberto Diaz, the pair combining for 6under on a breezy day at the Sandbelt course to enable Mexico to claim third.
Defending champion Den mark ended six behind in a tie for fourth with Canada.
Phil Mickelson birdied the fourth playoff hole to beat Tiger Woods in their $US9 million ($NZ13 million) madeforTV match in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Mickelson made a 1.2m birdie putt on a specially setup 85m, par3 hole.
The match at Shadow Creek Golf Club finished in the dark with lights set up around the hole.
Mickelson said to Woods after the match: ‘‘Just know I will never let you live that down. It’s not the Masters or the US. Open, but it is nice to have a
Alittle something on you’’. Mickelson was 1up after 16 holes, but Woods tied it with birdie from the fringe of the green on the par3 17th.
Both birdied the par5 18th and then parred the first playoff hole before it went to the par3 extra hole — which was pitch shots off the practice putting green — that they kept playing until there was a winner.
‘‘You couldn’t have made this event any better than it was,’’ Woods said.
‘‘It was back and forth and very competitive on a golf course that was playing on the tricky side.’’ — Reuters/AP