Flukey Ronnie in final
RONNIE O’SULLIVAN held his nerve to beat world
No.1 Mark Selby on the final black and reach the Northern Ireland Open Final last night.
O’Sullivan led for most of the match, only for Selby to fight back from
5-3 down thanks to a crafty 72 break in frame nine and a gutsy display in frame 10.
And the Leicester man had the edge in the final frame of the game before O’Sullivan (below) fluked the final red before clearing up to win by two points on the black.
Afterwards O’Sullivan said: “I was thinking if I miss the red a couple of more times I need a snooker and I would just go and shake his hand.
“But when the ball went into the middle I thought, ‘Oh no I’ve now got to try and clear up!’
“But it was a great game today against an incredible opponent.
“It could have gone either way and I’m delighted to get through.”
O’Sullivan, 42, enjoyed frame-winning breaks of
135 and 114 before taking a 3-2 lead against Selby.
The five-time world champion stretched that to 4-2 with a break of 112, before going 5-3 up, but Selby managed to draw level at 5-5.
Selby then took the lead during the final frame only to give the initiative back to O’Sullivan, and he made it count to reach his first Northern Ireland Open Final. BAD AIR DAY: Fleetwood shot a 74 in Dubai double-bogey on the 17th. Willett has not tasted victory since winning his first major title at Augusta in April 2016 and was outside the world’s top 450 earlier this season following numerous injuries and a loss of form.
But Willett, 31, has also shown signs of improvement with three top-10 finishes and said recently he no longer felt like golf ’s version of “Humpty Dumpty”.
“My main goal this year was not really a golfing goal, but body-wise,” he said after a third round of 68.
“If I could finish the season healthier and fitter than I started it I would be somewhere near.
“This is the sixth out of seven weeks playing golf.
“We’ve travelled all around the world playing a good bit and it’s nice that my body feels as good now as it ever has.
“I’m not going to lie, it would be an amazing thing to win but regardless of what happens my long-term career prospects look pretty good.
“It is very pleasing to see results out here and, even at home when I practice, I can see what is potentially around the corner.
“There were times when I despised golf because it was like Groundhog Day – turn up, be in pain, miss the cut and repeat.
“When I met up with Foles (coach Sean Foley) at last year’s US PGA I was pretty low and open to trying anything.
“From that day onwards we have been on a good path and elongating a career that would have been disappointing to stop after five years because of being injured.”