There were first-time winners on either side of the pond at the weekend. No longer are the names of George McNeill and Denmark’s Mads Vibe-Hastrup obscure to those who do not have an anorak’s eye-view of the US PGA Tour or the European Tour.
McNeill triumphed at the Frys.com Open in Las Vegas while Vibe-Hastrup claimed his first title at the Madrid Open.
Despite three-putting for bogey on the 18th, 32-year-old rookie McNeill closed with a five-under-par 67 for a total of 23-under 264 and a four-stroke victory over DJ Trahan.
The Associated Press wrote that Tiger Woods’ first pro title came at the same tournament, in 1996. Journalists like to add big names to articles where none seem to be around and scratched around to find something that linked George McNeill to Tiger Woods.
McNeill saw the humour in it by saying:
“Any time you can be mentioned in the same sentence as him it’s a good thing. That whole saying about what [happens in Vegas] stays in Vegas, I hope my game travels. I felt like I didn’t do anything that special. It’s nice to kind of buzz around and win by four and not feel like you’re doing anything all that great.â€
McNeill earned $720,000 for his win against a field that didn’t have a single top-20 player.
Vibe-Hastrup shot 67 in his final round to finish at 16-under-par 272 and win in Madrid by three strokes.
With many of Europe’s leading players preparing for a series of tournaments in Asia, Vibe-Hastrup was able to take advantage to get his name on the 2007 European Tour winners’ list.
The Dane won 150,000 euro for his victory, with Spain’s Alejandro Canizares finishing second on 275 and his final round of 68.
In Delhi, there was an opportunity to form links with big names again as home favourite and Asian Tour veteran Jyoti Randhawa triumphed in the Indian Open.
In successfully defending his title and winning it for the third time, Randhawa joined Australian great Peter Thomson as the only other player to sieze three victories at Delhi Golf Club.
Randhawa, who also players on the European Tour, shot a fourth-round three-under-par 69 for a 13-under 275 total to win by three strokes from Taiwan’s Chang Tse-peng, who closed with 68.
Another Indian, Rahil Gangjee, shot the day’s best round of 66 to earn third place, five strokes behind the winner with Australian rookie Mitchell Brown finished fourth.
