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RBC Heritage & Malaysian Open Wrap-up

By: Golf Shake | Mon 21 Apr 2014


Post by Sports Writer Derek Clements


THEY may have been separated by thousands of miles, but two golfers breathed a huge sigh of relief as they recorded their first victories of the season.

Matt Kuchar must have started to wonder if he would ever win again after a staggering run over the past four weeks. First he threw away the Texas Open with a final round of 75, then he lost the Shell Houston Open in a playoff and a final round of 74 at Augusta saw his chances at Augusta go up in smoke too.

He started the final round of the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head having seemingly thrown away yet another great chance of victory. But the 35-year-old, who is one of the most popular and most consistent players on the PGA Tour, put together a glorious final round and looked to have played his way back into the tournament until he missed a short par putt at the 17th and then dumped his approach at the final hole into a greenside bunker.

Incredibly, Kuchar holed from the sand for an unlikely birdie at one of the toughest finishing holes in golf. His 64 put him 11 under par for the tournament. And then he had to wait and see whether Luke Donald could birdie one of the last three holes to force a playoff. The Englishman grazed the cup at the 16th and did the same again at the 17th, and when his approach at the last came up short, the title, and the coveted tartan jacket, was Kuchar's.

Matt Kuchar

In 11 tournaments this season, he has had eight top 10 finishes and has already earned more than $3m. Donald will take consolation that his swing changes are finally starting to work. He drove the ball straighter than he has for many months and played a succession of stunning iron shots. Oddly, his normally immaculate short game let him down and he missed several short putts during the week.

But the Englishman's game is finally going in the right direction after more than a season in the doldrums, and the same can be said of his compatriot, Lee Westwood, who won the Maybank Malaysian Open by seven shots.

A final round of 68 gave him his first European Tour title for almost two years, finally halting his slump down the world rankings. He had show signs of form at The Masters, but was thrilled with this wire-to-wire win.

Fourteen years after the Englishman won this event, before it became co-sanctioned with The European Tour, Westwood delighted the crowds at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club with a sublime display that left Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen and Bernd Wiesberger, who all shared second spot on 11 under par, trailing in his wake.

The 40 year old started the final round one shot clear of Andy Sullivan, but kept cool as his rivals faltered. Even a mid-round storm delay of more than four hours did not upset his march to victory, which was sealed with an excellent birdie putt on the last.

“I am delighted to be back in the winner's circle,” he said. “You have to play really well to win any tournament by seven shots. I started off one in front and that could’ve been a pressure situation, but I kept my foot on the pedal and didn’t give the other lads much of a chance.

“I’m pleased that the work I’m doing with Mike Walker has paid off so quickly. I’ve been seeing the benefits on the range, but this week I’ve seen it on the course – and under pressure too, which is really pleasing. It’s a good time of year to be playing well because there are a lot of big tournaments coming up." Like Donald, Westwood decided that the swing that got him to No 1 in the world wasn't good enough and he has been working hard to make some changes.

For Westwood and for Kuchar it was a happy Easter weekend, and they can look forward to facing each other again in the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September.

Image Credit: Facebook Lee Westwood (www.facebook.com/LeeWestwoodOfficial/) & Facebook RBCHeritage (www.facebook.com/RBCHeritage)


Derek Clements is a sports journalist with a particular passion for golf with over 12 years of experience covering golf and other sports including Chief Sub-Editor on the sports desk of The Sunday Times. To contact Derek email direct via [email protected]]


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Tags: PGA Tour european tour



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