Big-hitting Colsaerts finally gets his reward with title

And by beating Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell on the last green in the final, the 29-year-old from Brussels, whose 316-yard average off the tee is longer than that of America’s No 1 bomber Bubba Watson, is also into both the world’s top 50 and a Ryder Cup qualifying position.

It all came his way after a week of living dangerously at Finca Cortesin in Spain.

Like last year’s winner Ian Poulter, Colsaerts did not win either of his group games and survived only after a play-off with Charl Schwartzel.

His semi-final with Paul Lawrie yesterday morning began with him losing the first four holes, but he then launched a fightback and after an hour-long thunderstorm delay won at the 20th.

That set up a clash with McDowell, who beat Spaniard Rafael Cabrera-Bello on the last. A year after beating the Northern Irishman 2&1 in the quarter-finals, he took the £559,865 winner’s cheque.

McDowell, without a victory since he beat Tiger Woods in California 17 months ago, was hoping to become the first Irish winner of a championship dating back to 1964. He had to be content, though, with just being their first finalist and with giving his Ryder Cup prospects a healthy boost – plus a cheque for £287,930, of course.

McDowell could have no complaints about the way he started the final, making an 18-footer on the first and nine-footer at the short second.

However, he then fell behind at the fourth, sixth and eighth, only for Colsaerts to lose the next each time – the ninth when he duffed his pitch after McDowell had done the same.

That took them into the back nine level and with the wind gusting over 30mph McDowell found the bushes at the 11th and bogeyed to go one down for a fourth time.

He could have levelled once more on the next, but missed from three feet and then hit what looked dangerously like a shank down the 13th to bogey again and fell two down for the first time.

McDowell, though, was the one to drive the green at the downwind 14th and an eight-foot birdie putt narrowed the deficit.

Both bogeyed the 15th, but McDowell dropped another on the next and in the process threw down a club in disgust, but Colsaerts three-putted the 17th.

His length paid handsome dividends at the last, though, and that was that.

On Saturday, Hull’s Richard Finch, could not repeat the scintillating form which saw him conquer top seed Martin Kaymer the previous day, going out at the hands of McDowell losing 3&2.