EUROPEAN TOUR:SWEDEN'S MICHAEL Jonzon is living proof that in golf it takes just one week to make it a great year. Without a single top 10 finish since December and needing to come first or second to keep his European Tour card, Jonzon won the Castello Masters in Spain with a closing 18-foot birdie putt yesterday.
The nerves were there for all to see as the burly 37-year-old, 158th on the money list and needing to climb into the top 115, lost his grip on the tournament by double-bogeying the 15th and dropping another shot at the 17th.
Martin Kaymer, six behind with five to play, was suddenly level when he birdied the 14th, 16th and 17th - and Jonzon's fellow countryman Christian Nilsson was 19 under par as well in the clubhouse.
When Kaymer then hit his approach to the 428-yard last to nine feet, the 24-year-old German looked favourite for a victory that would take him back to the top of the Order of Merit - and this despite him limping all week in his first event since breaking toes in a go-kart crash in August.
But Jonzon, 482nd in the world and playing with 10th-ranked Sergio Garcia and 12th-ranked Kaymer, holed from twice as far. Kaymer missed and it was all over.
"I'm on the moon," said Jonzon, whose only previous success in 290 tour starts was the 1997 Portuguese Open. "It's been desperate for me and I am kind of speechless at the moment. It's unbelievable."
The first prize of just over €308,000 was more than four times his previous biggest cheque in a career that goes back 16 years and includes eight trips to the qualifying school.
"It's going to take time to let this sink in, I guess," he added. "I'm just so thrilled to have a playing status for next year and I'm so proud of myself the way I handled these days."
One ahead overnight, he lost the lead when defending champion Garcia opened with back-to-back birdies, but the Spanish star is still looking for his first top-three finish of the year after falling back to fourth on his home course.
Jonzon grabbed an eagle and three birdies to turn in 31 and seemed to be coasting when he birdied the long 13th, while Nilsson followed six successive birdies with a bogey six there and Kaymer ran up a seven on the same hole.
But getting the job done proved anything but easy.
Jonzon, round in 67 for a 20-under aggregate of 264, is now up to 65th on the money list - and not only has a two-year tour exemption but will also qualify for the season-ending Dubai World Championship next month if he climbs five more spots.
Darren Clarke and former Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart - still fighting for his tour card - were among those alongside him, while Colin Montgomerie was tied for 12th and missed out on his first top 10 since June last year by a single stroke.
Gary Murphy carded a 68 to finish on 280.
European Ryder Cup table: leading positions
WORLD POINTS: 1 Pádraig Harrington 65.7, 2 Simon Dyson 63.5, 3 Lee Westwood 59.3, 4 Ross McGowan 48.0, 5 Alexander Noren 47.7, 6 Rafael Cabrera-Bello 37.6, 7 Edoardo Molinari 36.3, 8 Francesco Molinari 35.7, 9 Rory McIlroy 34.8, 10 Peter Hanson 32.9
EUROPEAN POINTS: 1 Simon Dyson 698,456, 2 Lee Westwood 624,387, 3 Ross McGowan 505,053, 4 Alexander Noren 491,430, 5 Francesco Molinari 418,829, 6 Rory McIlroy 354,468, 7 Rafael Cabrera-Bello 350,695, 8 Michael Jonzon 345,024, 9 Peter Hanson 337,392, 10 Oliver Wilson 335,568
Top four on world list qualify, then next five on European points list. Captain Colin Montgomerie adds three wild cards. (Bold denotes players in qualifying positions)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)