Porteus Wins Czech Masters For 2nd European Tour Title
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2017-09-04
Haydn Porteous (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)
VYSOKY UJEZD, Czech Republic (AP) — Haydn Porteous shot a 3-under 69 to win the Czech Masters by two strokes for his second European Tour title.
Starting two shots behind overnight leader Lee Slattery, the 23-year-old South African birdied six holes in the final round — together with three bogeys — to close at 13-under 275 at the Albatross Golf Resort near Prague.
“To get my second European Tour win under the belt just feels amazing,” Porteous said.
Porteous won the Joburg Open last year but was struggling since. Last week’s top 10 finish at the Made In Denmark event was his first of the season.
“It’s been a really torrid time through the last eight, nine months and I’ve really started doing the right things and slowly but surely the golf has got a little bit better,” Porteous said.
Second-place Slattery shot a 73 for the Englishman’s worst round in the tournament.
In a tight contest, Porteous birdied the first two holes to erase Slattery’s lead after the third round, and surged ahead outright for the first time with a birdie on the par-5 No. 9. But Porteous fell back with two straight bogeys on the 10th and 11th, allowing Slattery to return to the top with a birdie on No. 13.
On the par-3 16th, Porteous produced a superb tee shot on the way to another birdie, holding off Slattery who also birdied the hole.
After recording the best final round of 67, another Englishman Tom Lewis was tied for third with Pontus Widegren of Sweden, one shot behind Slattery.
England’s James Morrison (70) and Eddie Pepperell (68), Swede Oscar Lengden (68) and Australian Jason Scrivener (69) were tied for fifth on 8 under.
Englishman Lee Westwood had the only eagle of the day on the par-5 12th in his best round (68) to be tied for ninth.
The Czech event marked the beginning of a year-long qualification process for an automatic spot on Europe’s team for the 2018 Ryder Cup.