Morrison wins in El Prat, positives for Hoey
James Morrison with the Open de España trophy. Picture © Getty Images
He might have closed with a pair of disappointing 75s to end up tied for 31st behind James Morrison but Michael Hoey still picked up € 12,675 to move up the Race to Dubai after the Open de España.
Morrison, whose previous European Tour title came in Madeira five years ago, closed with a bogey free 69 to blow the field away at Real Club de Golf El Prat, finding four clear of Edouard Espana, David Howell, Francesco Molinari and defending champion Miguel Angel Jiménez on 10 under par.
All four threatened to put Morrison under pressure but a run of eight straight pars on the back nine saw him reach the 18th with a three-shot lead and he finished in style with a birdie from ten feet to earn the biggest prize of his career — €250,000, completing a return to form after he had to regain his card at Qualifying School in 2013.
While Morrison was a worthy winner, Jiménez – who aced the eighth on Friday – again provided the day's highlights.
The 51 year old holed his approach for eagle at the fifth – prompting an increasingly familiar celebratory jig – and was a foot away from a second hole-in-one at the eighth.
A round of 67 gave him a share of second alongside Howell, Molinari, and halfway leader Espana of France.
“It feels amazing… five years since my first win, a lot of chances in between. Today I just drew on my experience and got over the line," Morrison said.
"My game plan was to stick to my process. In know it’s really a cliché but it’s true. All my coaches have been really big on sticking to my process, just dealing with what comes in in front of me. In years past when I haven’t done it it’s been too much looking at leader boards and outside influences.
"Today, I stuck to my process all day long and executed it; I ground every single shot and I tried my hardest. The only time I looked at the leader board was on 17. I knew I had a three shot lead but I was desperate to make a birdie on the last… and I did it.
“Now comes the emotional bit: my wife and my little boy, and my dad and my mum… I couldn’t have done this without them. And obviously all my team and my caddie Martin. It’s all down to them, not me; it’s been a real team effort.
“Winning the Open de España means a lot to me. Every year we come and play here and it’s always one of the best weeks of the year. It’s always on a great golf course, great crowds. I lost it once on a playoff and now I’ve won it, it will be dear to my heart now forever.”
Final scores:
278 J Morrison (Eng) 70 71 68 69,
282 D Howell (Eng) 71 69 69 73, M Jiménez (Esp) 72 71 72 67, E Espana (Fra) 68 69 76 69, F Molinari (Ita) 72 69 70 71,
283 E Grillo (Arg) 70 70 72 71,
284 J Lara (Esp) 70 76 72 66, J Campillo (Esp) 74 70 70 70,
285 M Kieffer (Ger) 73 70 76 66, P Edberg (Swe) 70 73 75 67, D Fichardt (RSA) 66 73 73 73, E De La Riva (Esp) 66 77 74 68, W Ormsby (Aus) 77 71 72 65, S Kjeldsen (Den) 70 76 70 69,
286 G Bourdy (Fra) 69 73 75 69, J Carlsson (Swe) 70 76 72 68, B An (Kor) 72 70 72 72, R Ramsay (Sco) 74 73 72 67, B Evans (Eng) 73 73 71 69, D Horsey (Eng) 69 77 71 69, M Korhonen (Fin) 71 73 73 69,
287 R Gonzalez (Arg) 69 69 76 73, S Garcia (Esp) 75 72 67 73, T Aiken (RSA) 74 71 72 70, T Fisher Jnr (RSA) 65 78 73 71, M Fitzpatrick (Eng) 72 71 73 71, G Havret (Fra) 71 71 74 71,
288 Y Yang (Kor) 73 71 72 72, M Ford (Eng) 67 76 72 73, R Rock (Eng) 70 76 73 69,
289 M Hoey (Nir) 71 68 75 75, S Jamieson (Sco) 72 75 78 64,
290 T Fleetwood (Eng) 66 77 77 70, K Broberg (Swe) 75 70 74 71, R Fisher (Eng) 73 74 75 68, J Edfors (Swe) 71 75 74 70, G Storm (Eng) 75 73 74 68, T Pieters (Bel) 70 75 76 69, P Maddy (Eng) 70 70 77 73, J Singh (Ind) 74 70 74 72,
291 C Del Moral (Esp) 72 73 77 69, B Hebert (Fra) 71 70 73 77, M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 71 76 73 71, A Cañizares (Esp) 73 74 72 72, E Pepperell (Eng) 75 73 75 68, M Lundberg (Swe) 72 76 72 71, M Nixon (Eng) 72 74 72 73, B Virto Astudillo (Esp) 73 72 75 71,
292 P Larrazábal (Esp) 71 73 73 75, P Lawrie (Sco) 70 73 79 70, F Aguilar (Chi) 72 74 74 72, C Wood (Eng) 76 72 71 73, C Paisley (Eng) 75 73 73 71, R Wattel (Fra) 70 73 79 70, I Garrido (Esp) 71 76 76 69,
293 J Parry (Eng) 68 73 74 78, A Noren (Swe) 75 71 76 71, S Hansen (Den) 68 75 76 74, M Carlsson (Swe) 73 73 74 73, A Dodt (Aus) 71 77 71 74,
294 R Finch (Eng) 72 72 75 75, A Tadini (Ita) 70 76 75 73, M Manassero (Ita) 73 72 77 72, A Velasco (Esp) 73 75 73 73, R Green (Aus) 72 75 77 70, M Fraser (Aus) 73 73 72 76,
295 M Crespi (Ita) 77 70 75 73,
296 A Otaegui (Esp) 68 75 81 72,
297 P Uihlein (USA) 72 73 78 74,
299 J Palmer (Eng) 71 70 77 81,
300 C Pigem (Esp) 77 70 78 75,
303 T Murray (Eng) 74 74 80 75.
