Scottish Senior Open: Forsbrand shows his mettle to hold off Golding charge

Golf Correspondent

Monday 20 August 2012

As one of the pioneers of Swedish golf on the global stage, it was perhaps fitting that Anders Forsbrand last night scored a first for his country in the SSE Scottish Senior Open at Fairmont St Andrews.

To the victor, the spoils â€¦ Picture: Getty Images

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Nick Rodger

The 51-year-old, who held a three-stroke lead heading into the closing round over the Torrance course, staved off the menacing advances of Philip Golding to win by a shot, becoming the first Swede to capture a title on the European Senior Tour.

Forsbrand signed off with a five-under 67 for a 17-under aggregate of 199 to thwart the charging Golding, who had harried the frontrunner all the way and showed that he should prove to be a force to be reckoned with on the over-50s circuit with a second successive 64 to secure the runners-up spot.Having been part of a Swedish posse including the likes of Per-Ulrik Johansson, Mats Lanner and Jesper Parnevik, Forsbrand helped to blaze a golfing trail for his nation in the 1980s and 90s. He was in the three-man team that won the Dunhill Cup over the Old Course in St Andrews back in 1991 and completed a double of triumphs a month later when he and Johansson joined up to plunder the World Cup.Individually, Forsbrand became the first player from his country to compete in all four major championships in one season, in 1993, while his European Tour efforts netted six wins and a high of fourth on the order of merit at the end of the 1992 campaign.There is also another feat for which the Forsbrand name will be remembered. In 1994, he famously ran out of balls during a particularly torrid round in the French Open. Having taken 93 blows for 17 holes, he put two shots into the water up the 18th and brought the misery to an end by disqualifying himself.Forsbrand may have lacked balls then but he yesterday showed he possessed the necessaries for the title fight. Three decades after his first pro win, in the 1982 Swedish Professional Championship, Forsbrand penned a new chapter in his sporting life with a triumph among the golden oldies."The feeling of winning is just the same, it's just like the first one as a kid," said the Florida resident, whose last victory on the main tour came in the 1995 German Masters. "It's been a while since I won. I've not been in this position for 17 years. I still remember how to do it but I was trying not to jump ahead of myself."While East Lothian-based Englishman David J Russell led the chasing pack with a round to play, it was Senior Tour rookie Golding, four shots off the pace after 36 holes, who mounted an early assault on the final day with birdies at the first and second. Forsbrand repelled the attack, though, and a putt of 20 feet for a birdie on the third provided the catalyst for a neatly assembled outward half of five-under which had him cruising. The niggling presence of Golding, like a stone in the shoe, proved difficult to shake and when Forsbrand made his only mistake of the round – a three-putt bogey on 16 – the lead was just two. A par, par finish by the Swede was enough to clinch the £37,500 first prize, however, despite Golding making one final raid with a birdie on the last.Russell closed with a 67 to take third on 202 while St Andrews-born Austrian citizen Gordon Manson shared fourth on 207 in a quartet that also included former Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam. Barry Lane, the champion for the past two years, tied for eighth on 208, with Sam Torrance two shots further back on 210.

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Scottish Senior Open: Forsbrand shows his mettle to hold off Golding charge

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