February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
. During this summer, he had squandered a lead late in another tournament and had gone low to avoid missing cuts when he was on the brink of elimination. Top-30 finishes have been routine and he needed only to maintain the high caliber play of which he is capable over the length of a tournament to get a win.
Browne was in contention from the outset at Vestfold, although the first round took two days to complete, due to rain. As a result, the event was shortened to 54 holes, but Browne did not win this on the cheap, enjoying a three-stroke buffer after having started the third and final round one stroke behind the leaders. He finished 11 under par at 205 (68-70-67). Consecutive birdies on 10, 11, 12 and 13 set him apart from the pack. He bogeyed 14, but got that stroke back with another bird on 17.
“I’m over the moon,” Browne said. “I got a bit of luck on the eighth when my pitch was going way past the hole but hit the flag and stayed right next to the hole. Standing on the par-5 17th, I knew a birdie would be good enough to win. It was into the wind and playing long today, but I hit one of the best drives of my career, then followed it up with a piercing 3-wood from 254 yards that landed on the front of the green and gave me a two-putt birdie.”
Browne, a 30-year-old Dubliner, now ranks 25th on the Challenge Tour in earnings. He needs to climb to at least 15th in order to earn an automatic exemption to the 2005 European Tour.
Also on the course were David Higgins, who tied for 18th place at 215 (70-72-73), and Colm Moriarty, who tied for 40th position at 220 (72-74-74).
PGA TOUR
A week after having an impact on the PGA Championship, the trio of Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington suffered a bit of a letdown in the World Golf Championships-NEC Invitational. Clarke, the defending champion, tied for 14th place at the Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.
He got off to a slow start and never really contended for the lead, steadily climbing the leaderboard over the weekend. He finished three under par at 277 (71-70-68-68). McGinley tied for 46th place at 286 (73-72-69-72), while Harrington came in 74th among the 75 finishers at 297 (77-74-70-76). Nobody, however, really had a chance to catch Stewart Cink, who cruised to a four-stroke victory after shooting an opening-round 63.
Clarke and Harrington were officially named to the European Ryder Cup team, along with Sergio Garcia, Miguel Angel Jim