GOLF/European Open: You can rest assured that the last thing on Thomas Bjorn's mind as he stood on the 17th tee in the final round of yesterday's Smurfit European Open were the words of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner, of "water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink". Philip Reid reports from the K Club
Within the space of a few minutes, however, the Dane had become overly familiar with such musings as Bjorn's title aspirations perished in the murky waters of the river Liffey and he became the central figure in the most dramatic collapse of the season on the European Tour.
Three times he attempted to cut his three-wood over its meanderings to the safety of the 17th fairway, and three times he sent the ball plunging into its murky depths. By the time he dropped the ball for a fourth time onto the tee-box designed by his friend Paul McGinley - a tee-box that protrudes out into the river - Bjorn didn't even bother to put it on a tee peg.
"This was the worst day of my golfing life," lamented Bjorn, who had carried a four-stroke lead into the final round of the European Open only to suffer an improbable septuple-bogey 11 on the 17th and eventually finish with an 86. He plunged from runaway leader down to a final position of 33rd, with England's Kenneth Ferrie - who had been a 125 to 1 outsider prior yesterday morning - emerging as the unlikely winner.
Ferrie, whose only previous tour win came in the 2003 Spanish Open, and who had missed six cuts so far this season, shot a final-round 70 for three-under-par 285 to finish two shots clear of runners-up Colin Montgomerie and Graeme Storm.
Darren Clarke finished as the leading Irishman in tied-fourth place after birdieing his final three holes for a 73 for 288.
But it was Bjorn's collapse that provided the most dramatic moments of a final day that teased and tormented in equal doses.
Ferrie had just finished his round with a birdie on the 18th and walked into the recorder's hut to sign his scorecard when Bjorn's dramatics were starting. By the time he reached the locker room, Ferrie was informed that Bjorn had hit three shots into the river. The title was his.
"You don't wish what happened to Thomas on anybody," said Ferrie, who moved from 114th in the European Tour order of merit to 12th thanks to the biggest pay day (€577,816) of his career. "I suppose if you play golf long enough, things like this happen . . . maybe not to that extent, but it will happen. It's happened to me before that I've had a terrible last couple of holes and cost myself winning."
This time, the shoe was on the other foot as Ferrie's ability to get into the sanctuary of the clubhouse at three under combined with Bjorn's fallout to earn him one of the biggest titles on tour and a five-year exemption.
