Christian Cévaër wins the European Open

Christian Cévaër of France won the European Open at the London Club in Kent by a single stroke from Scotland’s Gary Orr and Alvaro Quiros of Spain. It was the Frenchman’s second European Tour victory.

The leaderboard at the London Club was a volatile one over the weekend as the name at the top changed no less than 45 times. Cévaër, the World Number 449 and without a top-30 finish in his last 15 starts, seemed one of the less likely candidates to emerge from the pack and take first prize, particularly with the likes of Søren Hansen, Jeev Milkha Singh and Rory McIlroy lurking.

But, it was Cévaër who kept his nerve best on the final day. "I made a point that no matter what happened just enjoy my golf,” he said,  “to enjoy my skills and hang in there.” He did just that and, as a result, walked away with a cheque for nearly €350,000 and a climb of over 300 places on the Official World Golf Ranking.

The Frenchman started the day in a tie for the lead with Milkha Singh but the Indian slipped back down the field with a disappointing 76. The biggest challenge to Cévaër looked as though it might come from Wales’ Stephen Dodd. But, after playing the first 16 holes in six under, Dodd bogeyed the last two to drop back into a tie for fifth.

Quiros and Webster both had chances to match Cévaër’s finishing total of seven-under-par, but both played wild drives on the final hole and neither could recover to make par. They finished one shot behind in a tie with Gary Orr.

The European Open The London Club, Kent, England May 28-31, purse €2,050,000, par 72

1    Christian Cévaër (Fra)    67    70    70    74    281    €341,220 T2    Gary Orr (Sco)        71    72    68    71    282    €152,669 T2    Alvaro Quiros (Esp)    71    70    69    72    282    €152,669 T2    Steve Webster (Eng)    69    72    70    71    282    €152,669 T5    Stephen Dodd (Wal)    75    70    70    68    283    €73,294 T5    Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind)    67    69    71    76    283    €73,294 T5    Chris Wood (Eng)        69    73    68    73    283    €73,294 T8    Ben Curtis (USA)        68    73    75    68    284    €43,915 T8    Marcus Fraser (Aus)    69    70    72    73    284    €43,915 T8    Søren Hansen (Den)    69    75    67    73    284    €43,915 T8    José Manuel Lara (Esp)    70    68    74    72    284    €43,915

Note: Players in bold signifies Titleist ball usage only