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It was an exciting final day at the Open de France ALSTOM in which German Martin Kaymer overcame Lee Westwood in the first hole of a sudden death playoff. Westwood had forced the playoff after a fantastic final round of 65 left him on -13.

Both men had to play the difficult 18th again and it really proved that golf is a game of inches. With both players in the rough, Kaymer’s approach barely carried the water. Westwood however was not as fortunate as his ball came up just shy and along with his ball, he saw his hopes of a first title in almost two years sink, “Martin’s ball has carried the water by a foot and mine must have went in by a foot. That’s the chance you take in play-offs” commented Westwood. “You can’t judge the week by that and I certainly can’t be disappointed by anything after the way I played today. I was delighted with my putting today. I had 31 putts for the first three rounds here and that’s just not good enough, but I putted a lot better today and that’s just what I need to do because if I can carry that on then I will be winning events by a couple of shots and not going to play-offs.”

For the 24 year old Kaymer, this win returns him to the top 20 in the world and continues his progression in the golf world. He is a player of immense talent and the hope now is that he can find a level of consistency that so often eludes the young rising stars of the golfing world today. Describing the playoff hole, Kaymer remarked, “I hit the same iron as I had done 20 minutes before but it was just a weak shot….“It was an okay lie and I thought that I could easily get it over the water. I had 170 metres with a six iron, but I pulled it a little bit which probably turned out to be a good thing.”

“I carried the water by about a metre or so. With the chip over the bunker down to the flag I just wanted to make sure that I kept the ball short of the flag because there was a danger of losing it off the back of the green into the water. After his fourth shot I knew that I had at least one putt for the tournament and I managed to sneak that one in the left side.”

Elsewhere, Ian Poulter, who is threatening to win tournaments again, finished 3rd with a final round of 67. He looked to be right in contention until he put a ball in the water on the 15th. Poulter was less than happy, blaming a trigger happy photographer for his error. It wasn’t the first time this week that Poulter has been less than pleased with the “novice” photographers at the event claiming “I wont be back next year. Its a shame because it’s a fabulous tournament, but thats what happens when you let novices come in and ruin our livelihoods”.

Personally, I find Poulter dramatic to say the least. Everything about him is attention seeking and to be frank, a bit over the top. He is a fantastic player who should be challenging in the upper echelons of the game. He has grit, determination and wears his heart on his sleeve but I just always feel there is something he wants to say. Somebody is always in the firing line with him and I just hope he can get rid of this negative trait of his, for his own sake. I think he can be Europe’s best golfer, win majors and become a talisman for the European Ryder Cup team but he will need to learn to have that killer winning instinct first and forget whats happening outside the ropes. It is something that plagued Montgomerie for years and many say it may have cost him a major so far in his career.

On a separate issue, Poulter’s Twitter page is excellent and I recommend it highly. I just hope he doesn’t berate me for my comments above (Have mercy Ian!). Of course, if he would like to tell me where to stick my two cents worth of advice, we always welcome an interview from such personalities as Ian.

Tags: Tournament Previews/Odds/Reviews //