Alex Noren's steady day captures title at Wales Open

Alex Noren went out and applied the pressure with consistent play Sunday and parred his way to the title at the Wales Open. Noren captured his second European Tour title with a final round of 70 at Celtic Manor and a nine-under par total of 275, two shots better than Gregory Bourdy and Anders Hansen.

Alex Noren hoisted the hardware Sunday at Celtic Manor. He used his day-long consistency for a one-under par 70 and a nine-under par total of 275 that delivered victory at the Wales Open.

Noren won his second European Tour event with 15 pars, two birdies and only one mistake in the final round.

At the driveable par four 15th, his three-wood carried the water hazard but hit the bank and bounced back into the water. He still had a great shot at par but missed from eight feet and picked up his only bogey of the day.

He cruised to victory after opening up a four-shot lead over the first seven holes. Neither Anders Hansen nor Peter Hanson could make a run at him. Hansen shot an even par 71 and tied for second at seven-under par 277 with Gregory Bourdy of France who shot the day's low round, a 67 that pulled him up into second place with Hansen.

Pablo Larazabal and Ricardo Gonzalez equalled Bourdy's effort with their own 67s and finished with Johan Edfors (69) and Hanson (72) at six-under par, 278.

Defending champion Graeme McDowell recovered from his disastrous third round 81 with an even par 71 to finish at three-over par, 287.

"I've proved to myself that I could hit a lot of greens and not just relay on my short game," Noren said after his win. His last victory came two years ago.

He won't have time to rest on his latest laurels. He'll go to Sunningdale and play in a 36-hole qualifier for the Open Championship in July. He qualified last week for a spot in the U.S. Open.

"It will be wierd but I'll will look forward to it," the new champion said.

Source: AHN Sports

Rafael Nadal continues mastery of Federer on clay, wins French title

World No. 1 Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who had already beaten Roger Federer twice this year, in the Masters semis in Miami and Madrid, continued his domination of the Swiss maestro this time on clay, with a four sets dismantling Sunday.

Top-ranked Nadal, who entered Sunday’s tilt with a 4-0 mark against Federer at Roland Garros, with the three wins in the finals and a semis victory here back in 2005, shook off some tentative moments in the match to claim a 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 6-1 triumph.

With the victory, the reigning U.S. Open, Wimbledon champ Nadal equaled former tennis great Bjorn Borg’s six titles at Roland Garros.

It also enabled the super Spaniard to move to an astounding 45-1 mark at the world’s lone clay-court major.

Sunday’s epic match marked the 25th time the two tennis icons have met, with Nadal hiking his lead to 17-8 over Federer in their lifetime series, including a lopsided 12-2 mark on clay.

It marked the sixth French final appearance in seven years for the 25-year-old Spanish left-hander, who captured his 46th career title.

Nadal reached the championship at Roland Garros for sixth time Friday when he trounced fourth seeded Andy Murray in straight sets in the semis, after dismantling fifth ranked Robin Soderling in a rematch in the quarterfinals.

Nadal topped the Swedish slugger Soderling in last year’s French Open finale. Soderling was responsible for the amazing Spaniard’s lone career blemish at the French Open when he stunned Nadal in the fourth round here two years ago.

Source: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/