STEADY EDDIE
Pepperell lands his first tour crown as Tommy falls short
TOmmY Fleetwood came up just short last night in his stirring attempt to win in America on only his second start as a PGA Tour member.
Following Eddie Pepperell’s victory in the Qatar masters earlier in the day, Fleetwood was seeking to complete a notable double for English golf at the Honda Classic in Florida.
Tied for the lead with five holes to play, a three-putt bogey from long range at the 14th came at just the wrong time — and was followed by another at the difficult 15th.
Fleetwood bounced back to birdie the 18th for a 69 and a creditable fourth place behind Americans Justin Thomas and Luke List, who contested a sudden- death play- off. Swede Alex Noren was third.
Tiger Woods came up with such an astonishing performance in finishing 12th that it left even Jack Nicklaus agog. ‘I’m just amazed at how well Tiger is swinging the club after all he’s been through,’ said the Golden Bear. Woods even had a sniff of victory after birdieing the 14th but, going for the flag at the 15th, found only the water. In the grand scheme of things, however, it didn’t matter a jot. Here was persuasive evidence this particular Tiger comeback is going to prove the real thing.
‘my body feels good and I made a big leap this week,’ said a buoyant Woods.
As for Pepperell, it was only 15 months ago that he lost his European Tour card and was seemingly in grave danger of going down as a major talent unfulfilled.
Since then, the popular 27year- old from Oxford has shown plenty of character to go along with his obvious talent and yesterday he notched another landmark by claiming his first victory on tour at the 126th attempt.
Pepperell was made to sweat during a compelling duel against fellow Englishman Oliver Fisher before claiming the title by a stroke. ‘What do I think about that? Relief, more than anything, and the need for a large glass or wine, or something more,’ he said.
Plenty start to feel sorry for themselves when they lose their tour privileges but Pepperell immediately set about making the long journey back. Last year, he was the only player who earned a card from the tour qualifying school to finish in the top 60 in the Race to Dubai.
In yesterday’s final round it looked as if the victory margin might be a comfortable one until 29-year- old Fisher, seeking only his second tour victory himself, mustered a gutsy finish with birdies at the 16th and 17th.
Pepperell, feeling the pressure, left himself with an awkward third shot to the par-five 18th from heavy rough, but played it well to 20ft to seal the deal as Fisher missed narrowly from 12ft in an effort to force a play-off.
In Thailand yesterday on the women’s LPGA Tour, Jessica Korda completed a remarkable four- stroke success over fellow American Lexi Thompson.
The daughter of former Czech tennis player Petr, Korda had her nose and jaw broken in five places in December to correct an overbite problem that was giving her headaches.
This was her first tournament back — one she completed with 27 screws still in place to help the bones reset. ‘I didn’t know how I was going to do and it feels just amazing to win,’ she said.