Lee Westwood, wins the Valle Romano Andalucian Open 2007
British golfer, Lee Westwood, won the Valle Romano Andalucian Open yesterday at Aloha Golf with a final tally of 20 strokes under-par. The victory was the 34 year-old Westwood's 17th win on the European circuit and his 27th overall, with wins in the United States, China, Japan, South Africa, and Australia. The victory keeps Westwood in the realm of Europe's premier golfers as well as moving him among the top 50 players in the world.
Westwood completed the tournament with 67 strokes for a total of 268, 20 under par. "It would seem an easy win but at the end, I complicated it. The front 9 holes I had played very well, making 3 birdies to begin and despite the 3 putts on the 5th hole, I also had opportunities on the 4th, 6th, and 9th holes." However, Westwood began to falter on the back 9. On the 11th hole, he arrived five shots up but forced to three-putt, as he did on the 15th hole as well. But in the end, he managed concentrate to keep it all together.
Westwood also was elated about his return to the world's top 50. "My goal was to return to be in the top 50 of the world, but over all, to return to play like a while ago. Winning this tournament is very important and it means a lot to regain the feel of winning and doing it under pressure was very important."
The Brit definitely did react well under pressure. Spanish golfer and tournament promoter Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño fought hard for the championship until the very last round, making 2 birdies in the five first holes. However, he ran out of steam at the end of the round recording five birdies and five bogeys for a score of 72, 14 under par. He finished the tournament in 7th position. "It was a day of many ups and downs, I made some very good shots, others very bad.," he later reflected.
The Swedish golfer, Fredrik Andersson Hed finished second two shots off the winning pace shooting a 66 in the final round. This gave him his third top 10 finish in the last three consecutive weeks. The English player Philip Archer rounded out the top three with 18 under par with a well-played final round of 66.