Robert Karlsson finally broke the pattern of his career on Sunday when he won the
Omega European Masters in Switzerland.
Each of the Swede's four previous tour victories came with two-year gaps in
between, but after capturing the Spanish Open last season the waiting has not
been so long this time.
Karlsson shot a closing 71 to win the £158,407 first prize by a handsome four
strokes with a 14 under par total of 270 - and was then given a red jacket to go
with his red shirt by supermodel Cindy Crawford, the guest of honour at the
award ceremony.
Joint second were Scotland's Paul Lawrie, who had three bogeys in the last
five holes, and South African Trevor Immelman, a runner-up for the third time
this season.
It was not as easy as it sounds for Karlsson until the last hour.
England's Barry Lane, winner in 1993, led by one after eight holes, but he
then bogeyed the next three and was virtually out of the running by the time he
took a quadruple bogey seven on the short 16th.
He lost a ball up a tree there and had to go back to the tee despite the
efforts of European tour caddie Joey Jones, who was watching at the time and
climbed high up to try to locate it.
That adventure, which sent Lane tumbling down to joint 13th, was good news for
Nick Faldo, who had looked set to be overtaken by Lane in the race to be Justin
Rose's partner at the World Cup in Mexico in December.
Karlsson, leader from the first day to last just like 2000 and 2001 champions
Eduardo Romero and Ricardo Gonzalez, has tried all manner of things to make
himself a better player.
He went on a month-long fast once and also underwent sessions of body
psychotherapy where he was asked to contort himself into difficult positions
while talking over his career.
But a more conventional change of coach has led to this latest upturn in his
fortunes four years after he just missed out on a Ryder Cup debut.
Karlsson, four clear at halfway and two ahead at the start of the final round,
had gone 44 holes without a bogey when he opened with a par.
But not only did that run end at the next, he followed it with two more and
fell into a four-way tie with Lawrie, Lane and Italian Emanuele Canonica.
After missing a three-foot par putt on the second he pulled his tee shot into
a flower bed at the 192-yard third. But he responded to dropping yet another
shot on the next with a birdie at the 341-yard fifth.
Lane, however, birdied the seventh to stay on terms and then holed from off
the green at the short eighth to take over at the top.
But as he then bogeyed the next three Karlsson almost holed-in-one on the
eighth and made a 14-footer on the 11th.
Now two clear of Lawrie, that became four when he chipped in at the 13th and
Lawrie, trying for the green in two at the 598-yard downwind 14th went in the
lake and took six. Karlsson was home then if he could stay dry - and he did. Two
closing bogeys did not matter.
Lawrie, who had two more bogeys in the finishing stretch, said: "The second
to the 14th was my worst swing all week.
"I was only hitting a six iron, but I just blocked it. It was not a very good
finish, but there's been more good than bad this week."
Faldo, joint second after his opening 66, fell away to four under, finishing
with a 73 that did not contain a single bogey.
He and Lane will now be in competition at the German Masters next week not
only for the World Cup place, but also a spot in the following week's American
Express world championship in Ireland. They need to be in Europe's top 20 for
that and it is all to play for in Cologne.
Open champion Ernie Els shot a 74 to finish on only three under - and will
want to forget the ninth in a hurry. He had three bogey sixes there.
The South African will remember the day for another reason. After his round he
gave a golf lesson on the first tee to fellow Omega `ambassador` Crawford, whose
last attempt at the sport in Crans ended in her breaking the wrist of a
photographer with a wild shot.
Els has still increased his lead at the top of the European Order of Merit to
nearly £320,000 because compatriot Retief Goosen managed only a level-par
aggregate for the week.
Former Masters champion Craig Stadler finished with an 81 for seven over, but
still retained the bragging rights in his family. Son Kevin, who won the
Colorado Open on his professional debut last week, missed the halfway cut.
Collated final totals in the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre,
Switzerland
(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 71):
270 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 65 66 68 71
274 Paul Lawrie 66 70 66 72, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 70 67 65 72
275 Bradley Dredge 73 66 69 67, Simon Dyson 69 70 68 68
276 Jarrod Moseley (Aus) 72 68 69 67, Stephen Leaney (Aus) 68 70 68 70, Alex
Cejka (Ger) 67 69 68 72, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 68 68 65 75
277 Paul Casey 68 69 76 64, Michael Campbell (Nzl) 71 69 67 70, Jeev Milkha
Singh (Ind) 71 70 66 70
278 Fredrik Andersson (Swe) 68 70 70 70, Barry Lane 70 68 64 76
279 Marc Farry (Fra) 70 71 71 67, Sam Walker 73 65 67 74, David Park 67 72 66
74
280 Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 70 66 73 71, Mark Roe 73 66 70 71, Jamie Donaldson 69
71 69 71, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 67 70 70 73, Nick Faldo 66 72 69 73
281 David Howell 71 70 71 69, Thomas Levet (Fra) 69 71 71 70, Thomas Bjorn
(Den) 69 74 68 70, Jean Hugo (Rsa) 70 71 68 72, Ernie Els (Rsa) 70 71 66 74
282 Miles Tunnicliff 73 68 71 70, Sebastien Delagrange (Fra) 72 70 70 70,
Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 74 68 69 71, Phillip Price 69 68 73 72, Ian Garbutt 70 71 69
72, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 72 68 69 73, Andrew Marshall 72 68 69 73, Klas
Eriksson (Swe) 68 67 73 74
283 Brett Rumford (Aus) 67 73 76 67, Dennis Edlund (Swe) 72 71 71 69, Mikael
Lundberg (Swe) 71 70 71 71, Henrik Bjornstad (Nor) 69 69 72 73, Soren Hansen
(Den) 72 69 68 74, Matthew Cort 72 65 69 77, Andrew Coltart 70 65 70 78
284 Francis Valera (Spa) 72 71 73 68, Scott Gardiner (Aus) 70 73 71 70, Brian
Davis 68 72 73 71, Robert Coles 72 68 73 71, Stephen Gallacher 71 72 70 71,
Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 71 67 74 72, Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 66 76 70 72, Retief
Goosen (Rsa) 70 73 69 72, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 69 71 71 73
285 Chris Gane 72 70 73 70, Mark Foster 68 71 74 72, David Drysdale 70 73 70
72, Stephen Scahill (Nzl) 73 70 70 72, Olle Karlsson (Swe) 69 69 74 73, Gary Orr
68 71 72 74, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 72 70 69 74, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 70 72 65
78
286 Marten Olander (Swe) 72 70 72 72, Marcel Siem (Ger) 71 67 69 79
287 Santiago Luna (Spa) 70 73 68 76
288 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 67 73 71 77
289 Markus Brier (Aus) 72 71 76 70
290 Ian Poulter 70 72 71 77, Peter Hanson (Swe) 70 72 70 78
291 Craig Stadler (Aus) 71 72 67 81
292 Stuart Little 70 71 78 73, Christopher Hanell (Swe) 72 68 75 77
Withdrew Jarmo Sandelin (Swe)
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