EUROPEAN TOUR NEWS: PETER HANSON defied cold, wet and windy conditions to give Sweden their first home winner of the Scandinavia Masters for 10 years in Stockholm yesterday.
The 30-year-old, whose only previous European Tour victory in 174 starts came in Spain three years ago, hung on in a nervous finish to lift the €266,660 first prize by one from compatriot Pelle Edberg and England's Nick Dougherty.
For Dougherty it meant a runner-up finish in the event for the second year running, but there was real drama attached to his performance this time.
The 26-year-old Ryder Cup hopeful tweaked his back somehow during the night, and in trying to warm up in the gym it got only worse.
"What a day. If my chiropractor had been here he might have told me to pull out, so I'm glad he wasn't," said Dougherty. "After all I've been through I was going to finish no matter what."
He earned just short of €140,000, and although he stays 14th in the cup race he is in much closer touch with two events to go.
Hanson, meanwhile, moves up from 24th to 17th and will play in this week's KLM Open in the Netherlands, rather than take a break because he still has an outside chance to make the team.
"It feels great, of course," he said. "It's been a long wait for me.
"I started pretty well, but then struggled on the back nine, the same as yesterday."
From four clear with eight to go, he double-bogeyed the 11th and bogeyed the 16th and 17th.
He remained one ahead moving to the tee at the last, however, and a superb iron to the heart of the green proved the decisive shot after Edberg had just failed to hole from long range.
"I used to imagine having a putt to win in Sweden when I was a kid and it happened today," he said.
German Martin Kaymer finished in joint 14th place after a closing 69 and is now about €300 behind 10th-placed Soren Hansen in the cup standings.
Hansen took the week off, as did ninth-placed Oliver Wilson.
"It sounds weird, but I don't feel the pressure," said Kaymer. "I just see it as a challenge and it's fun to be in this position trying to make others angry.
"It's getting really tight, but I'm enjoying it."
Paul McGinley had three birdies and two bogeys in a closing, one-under 69 to finish tied for eighth on five under par. That was worth €31,760.
Damien McGrane also shot 69 to be on three under and collect €20,000.
But Gary Murphy had seven bogeys in his 74 to slip to tied 46th.
SWEDEN'S Lotta Wahlin won the Wales Women's Championship of Europe, defeating Germany's Martina Eberl at the second extra hole of a sudden death play-off.
The 24-year-old birdied the par-five 18th hole twice in the play-off at Machynys Peninsula Golf and Country Club in Llanelli, south Wales. Eberl, who led after the first and second rounds, birdied the first extra hole but bogeyed the second after her ball twice found the sand near the green.
Wahlin, who won her first official Ladies European Tour title at the Turkish Open three months ago, had a chance to win the tournament at the 18th green in regulation, but missed a three-footer for par to fall into a tie with Eberl.
Wahlin battled through wind and light showers to sign for a final round of one-under 71 and a seven-under-par total after 54 holes, as Saturday's play was a wash-out.
Wahlin earned a first prize of €66,737. "I'm just so happy. When I won the last time I was leading every day and it was quite obvious that I was going to win. This time I came from fifth place, but I'm just so happy. Now I have proved to myself that I'm one of the best players on this tour and I'm really proud of that," she said.
Martina Gillen's good week continued as she closed with a solid 72 to finish on 213, three under par, just four shots off the leaders. She earned €6,500.
Rebecca Coakley closed with a 71 to be on level par. That was worth €3700.
