Ariel Canete is making some urgent adjustments to his travel plans after winning the first European Tour title of his career in the inaugural Johannesburg Open.
The 31-year-old Argentinian closed with a 67 on Royal Johannesburg & Kensington's demanding East course for a 19-under-par total of 266. South Africa's Andrew McLardy finished 2nd on 268 following a 68, with compatriot Hennie Otto 3rd on 269 after a 67. England's Edward Rush led the British contingent, signing for a 69 to tie for 6th on 273 with Brazil's Adilson da Silva. "This win changes my life," said Canete who, since turning professional in 1995, has flitted intermittently between the European Tour, the Challenge Tour and the Asian Tour in between occasional sorties on the United States satellite circuits and in South Africa.
Before the Joburg Open he was in "category 12" on the European Tour which meant only limited playing opportunities for 2007. So he was planning to tee up mostly on the Challenge Tour and was intending to spend the next few weeks campaigning in low-key events in Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Kenya. Now he will travel to the Middle East instead for the three-week swing that includes the Abu Dhabi Championship starting on Thursday, the Qatar Masters and the Dubai Desert Classic – all big-money events.
"The putter, it work like magic," said Canete by way of explanation for his win. "The greens here are super. I could see the lines clearly. Everything went in, in, in. It's difficult to describe how I feel. But now my travel plans – they must change."
Europe captain, Seve Ballesteros, was unsurprised by his team's crushing victory over Asia in the Royal Trophy in Thailand. The Europeans won five of the eight singles match-ups and lost just one to complete a 12.5-3.5 rout of Joe Ozaki's side. "These are Ryder Cup champions," said Ballesteros. "They beat the Americans very badly, so this was not a surprise. The Asian team played very well, but we played much better."
Ballesteros' 8-man team boasted 5 of the side that hammered the Americans at the K Club and needed just one-and-a-half points on the final day to retain the trophy and 2 to win it outright after last year's 9-7 result.
Lee Westwood put the first points on the board with a 4&3 win over Toru Taniguchi and Paul McGinley then went three up with three to play in his match with Thaworn Wiratchant to virtually guarantee Europe's retention of the title. But it was Ryder Cup hero Darren Clarke who won the half-point required with his draw with Prom Meesawat.
Johan Edfors then won his clash with SK Ho 3&2 and from there was also victory for Anthony Wall, who beat Tetsuji Hiratsuka 4&2. Robert Karlsson beat Jeev Milkha Singh 3&2, before McGinley finally put his match to bed, winning 2&1.
The only bright spot for the Asians was veteran Thai Thongchai Jaidee's 2&1win over Niclas Fasth, while YE Yang drew with Henrik Stenson. |
