Simon Thornton wins Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open

Ireland's Simon Thornton won the Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open presented by Neuflize OBC, at Aa St Omer Golf Club, after a playoff with Tjaart Van der Walt of South Africa.

Simon Thornton
Fergus Bisset
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published

Ireland's Simon Thornton won the Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open presented by Neuflize OBC, at Aa St Omer Golf Club, after a playoff with Tjaart Van der Walt of South Africa.

Thornton was locked in a thrilling battle with playing partner Van der Walt down the stretch. The Irishman holed a succession of clutch putts to stay on terms with the South African. On the final green, the 36-year-old sank yet another tough putt to seal a par and force a playoff for the title.

On the first extra hole, Van der Walt fired his approach into the greenside bunker, while Thornton found the edge of the green. The South African splashed out to some 12 feet before Thornton rolled his putt to within tap-in range for par. Van der Walt missed his par effort and so Thornton was left to knock his ball into the cup and claim his first European Tour title.

"It's so big for me," he said. "I didn't play particularly well today in perfect conditions but I got up and down when I had to and holed good putts."

Van der Walt was disappointed not to take the victory.

"To get so close and not finish it off is tough," said the 39-year-old. "I think if I can iron out those little mistakes I can go on to win tournaments by bigger margins and I'm the kind of person who gets motivated by these kind of things so hopefully the door will open again and I can do it with flying colours next time."

Englishmen Seve Benson and Robert Dinwiddie finished third and fourth respectively.

Najeti Hotels et Golfs Open presented by Neuflize OBC Aa St Omer GC, St Omer, France Jun 13-16, purse €500,000, par 71

1   Simon Thornton (Ire)   74   70   65   70   279   €83,330 2   Tjaart Van der Walt (RSA) 67   71   71   70   279   €55,550 3   Seve Benson (Eng)   75   65   70   70   280   €31,300 4   Robert Dinwiddie (Eng)   72   66   74   70   282   €25,000 T5   Pelle Edberg (Swe)   74   69   69   71   283   €19,350 T5   Chris Lloyd (Eng)      73   68   70   72   283   €19,350 T7   Agustin Domingo (Esp)   74   71   68   71   284   €12,900 T7   Jeppe Huldahl (Den)   73   67   73   71   284   €12,900 T7   Victor Riu (Fra)      68   71   72   73   284   €12,900

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage

Fergus Bisset
Fergus Bisset
Contributing Editor

Fergus is Golf Monthly's resident expert on the history of the game and has written extensively on that subject. He has also worked with Golf Monthly to produce a podcast series. Called 18 Majors: The Golf History Show it offers new and in-depth perspectives on some of the most important moments in golf's long history. You can find all the details about it here.

He is a golf obsessive and 1-handicapper. Growing up in the North East of Scotland, golf runs through his veins and his passion for the sport was bolstered during his time at St Andrews university studying history. He went on to earn a post graduate diploma from the London School of Journalism. Fergus has worked for Golf Monthly since 2004 and has written two books on the game; "Great Golf Debates" together with Jezz Ellwood of Golf Monthly and the history section of "The Ultimate Golf Book" together with Neil Tappin , also of Golf Monthly.

Fergus once shanked a ball from just over Granny Clark's Wynd on the 18th of the Old Course that struck the St Andrews Golf Club and rebounded into the Valley of Sin, from where he saved par. Who says there's no golfing god?

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