Colsaerts beats McDowell to win World Match Play title

REUTERS: Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts edged out Graeme McDowell to win the World Match Play Championship on the final hole in Casares, Spain on Sunday.

In tricky, windy conditions Colsaerts never trailed in a tightly-contested match and won the 16th hole on the Finca Cortesin to move two up with two to play.

Northern Ireland’s McDowell, the 2010 US Open champion, was ready to shake hands on the par-three 17th but Colsaerts missed a routine four-foot par putt to extend the contest down the par-five 18th.

A venomous drive from Colsaerts down the final fairway gave him the advantage and although his second slid into the semi-rough to the right he chipped to 10 feet and then rolled his ball up to the hole for a guaranteed par that McDowell could not better.

Colsaerts’ second European Tour win, after breaking through at last year’s China Open, gave him the biggest payday of his career, a cool 700,000 euros.

“I had to dig deep all day, the conditions this afternoon were brutal and we had to fight and grind all the way,” said the 29-year-old, who has had seven top 10 finishes in 11 tournaments this year.

“I can’t feel anything right now, to have my name on this trophy next to major winner and all these players, it’s a dream come true.

“When you play Graeme in these conditions you know it’s going to be tough because he’s (Northern) Irish and plays lots of links golf. But I’ve been playing well for a while now.”