Hoey snatches first Top-10 for more than eight months
Pablo Larrazábal with the BMW International Open. Picture: Getty Images
Michael Hoey picked up some useful Race to Dubai cash — €55,000 — and vowed to push on now for the rest of the season after he finished tied seventh behind Pablo Larrazábal in the BMW International Open in Munich.
Tied for the lead early on when he birdied the fifth, sixth, eighth and ninth to close a five-stroke gap on overnight leader James Morrison, who eventually struggled to a 77 and a share of 11th on 11 under, the 36 year old could't manage that sixth European Tour win but it was still his first Top 10 since he tied for seventh in the 36-hole Portugal Masters last October.
Like many, he found the back nine a tough prospect and bogeyed the 13th and 14th to slip back to seventh alongside Peter Hanson on 13 under par.
But he had the consolidation of a decent cheque that eases his Race to Dubai position and his decent showing will give him confidence for the rest of the season, especially when he felt he didn't play his very best golf during the week.
Race to Dubai - How the Irish stand
- 1 MCILROY Rory (8) €2,875,645
- 22 LOWRY Shane (8) €651,956
- 71 MCDOWELL Graeme (8) €211,272
- 88 PHELAN Kevin (12) €166,034
- 90 HOEY Michael (17) €165,357
- 113 CLARKE Darren (10) €123,233
- 124 LAWRIE Peter (17) €105,647
- 175 MCGRANE Damien (18) €49,880
- 206 HARRINGTON Padraig (3) €22,303
- 220 MAYBIN Gareth (8) €15,286
- 228 THORNTON Simon (3) €10,650
- 247 MCGINLEY Paul (2) €3,954
Larrazábal captured the title for a second time with a bogey free final round of 66, holding off Henrik Stenson by a single shot at Golfclub München Eichenried.
The Catalan emerged from a congested leaderboard with five birdies on the front nine, followed by another decisive gain on the 16th hole to claim his fourth European Tour title.
His 17 under par total of 271 just edged him past Stenson, the world No 7, who had surged up the leaderboard with a fine round of 65 that feature five birdies and an eagle on the par five 11th hole.
Englishman Chris Paisley closed with a round of 71 to finish third on 15 under par, while two-time US Open Champion Retief Goosen (67) shared fourth place on 14 under par with Spaniard Carlos Del Moral (69) and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat (68).
Darren Clarke (69) tied for 20th on nine under par as Shane Lowry went to the turn in 32 but, undoubtedly struggling to get over his US Open exertions, he dropped five shots on the way home and tied for 29th on seven under after a 73.
Damien McGrane, struggling to hold on to his card, posted a 72 to share 40th as Peter Lawrie's 70 moved him up just two places to tied 53rd on four under.
Kevin Phelan is 88th in the Race to Dubai as he bids to win back his card but after starting 68-71, a 76 75 finish was not the weekend he had in mind as he came home 64th on two over.
“Every title is very special, but this place, from the first time I arrived to this golf course, it's something that suits my eye," Larrazábal said. "It suits my eye from the tee and on second shots and on the greens.
“I am lucky, winning four times, and three very special ones, because obviously I have won this one twice. There was an article where they called me the 'giant killer.'
"In France, Monty was runner‑up, and here, four years ago with Sergio runner‑up, in Abu Dhabi with Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson, and this time, Henrik Stenson. So it cannot be a lot better.”
“I guess those two holes (11 and 12) were worth coming and watching," Stenson said of his eagle-birdie charge. "It was not free today. You had to pay admission to come in, so I guess I gave them something to watch there.
“I hit some great shots and took full advantage of those two holes and thought if I could post a low number in the club house, see what happened. I'm very happy with the way I putted and played today.”
Complete final round scores (par 72)
271 P Larrazábal (Esp) 70 66 69 66,
272 H Stenson (Swe) 67 71 69 65,
273 C Paisley (Eng) 69 67 66 71,
274 R Goosen (RSA) 68 70 69 67, C Del Moral (Esp) 69 71 65 69, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 67 71 68 68,
275 P Hanson (Swe) 69 68 67 71, Michael Hoey (Nir) 69 65 71 70,
276 D Howell (Eng) 69 70 72 65, D Gaunt (Eng) 65 73 70 68,
277 D Horsey (Eng) 70 68 69 70, R Fisher (Eng) 71 69 67 70, T Fleetwood (Eng) 67 74 69 67, R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 65 67 74 71, T Jaidee (Tha) 68 67 68 74, J Morrison (Eng) 67 66 67 77,
278 M Madsen (Den) 71 69 71 67, B Dredge (Wal) 69 68 70 71, S Wakefield (Eng) 71 70 69 68,
279 M Schneider (Ger) 68 70 71 70, H Otto (RSA) 71 69 71 68, Darren Clarke (Nir) 70 71 69 69, M Carlsson (Swe) 70 68 72 69, J Quesne (Fra) 68 71 72 68, V Dubuisson (Fra) 72 67 67 73, P Oriol (Esp) 70 71 68 70,
280 K Broberg (Swe) 71 69 68 72, B Wiesberger (Aut) 71 68 72 69,
281 G Stal (Fra) 70 70 67 74, M Kieffer (Ger) 72 69 69 71, T Olesen (Den) 71 68 69 73, C Doak (Sco) 71 70 69 71, L Jensen (Den) 65 69 73 74, V Riu (Fra) 67 73 70 71, L Bjerregaard (Den) 71 67 71 72, P Lawrie (Sco) 68 71 69 73, J Van Zyl (RSA) 70 68 70 73, Shane Lowry (Irl) 72 67 69 73, J Carlsson (Swe) 69 69 75 68,
282 F Fritsch (Ger) 68 72 74 68, G Mulroy (RSA) 69 71 69 73, A Wall (Eng) 70 69 70 73, A Hansen (Den) 69 69 71 73, E Espana (Fra) 69 69 72 72, A Johnston (Eng) 66 72 72 72, Damien McGrane (Irl) 69 72 69 72,
283 G Bourdy (Fra) 75 66 73 69, T Bjørn (Den) 71 68 72 72, M Siem (Ger) 71 70 70 72, S Kjeldsen (Den) 73 68 73 69, T Hatton (Eng) 71 70 66 76, O Farr (Wal) 69 71 72 71,
284 Peter Lawrie (Irl) 70 67 77 70, A Cañizares (Esp) 70 66 72 76,
285 M Foster (Eng) 76 65 69 75, A Kirstein (Ger) 70 71 69 75, J Campillo (Esp) 69 71 75 70,
286 E Pepperell (Eng) 69 70 78 69, J Lagergren (Swe) 68 69 75 74,
287 T Van Der Walt (RSA) 68 72 77 70,
288 J Roos (RSA) 71 70 74 73, J Luiten (Ned) 72 68 77 71,
289 A Velasco (Esp) 71 69 72 77,
290 Kevin Phelan (Irl) 68 71 76 75,
291 M Ford (Eng) 70 69 76 76.
