Sweden’s Alex Noren fired a stunning final round of 62 to win the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth by two shots.
Noren eagled the final hole after a sublime 225-yard five-iron approach to five feet to seal a brilliant display over the revamped West Course.
The 34 year old, who also posted eight birdies in his ten-under-par round, had started seven shots behind third round leader Andrew Dodt and matched the biggest comeback in the history of the BMW PGA Championship, previously achieved by Simon Khan in 2010 and Rory McIlroy in 2014.
Noren also produced a grandstand finish in his last European Tour triumph, carding a closing 63 to come from six shots back to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge last November. That was his fourth title of the 2016 season – and he made it five European Tour wins in just 17 appearances, three of which have come on UK soil, after victories in the Scottish Open and British Masters.
After posting the clubhouse target of 11 under par, Noren had to wait a further two hours as 11 more groups finished. The challenges came from Shane Lowry, Henrik Stenson, Branden Grace and Dodt, but they fizzled out during a heavy downpour, which should not have affected the performances of players of this quality.
But that, and scoreboard pressure, had their effect as the birdies dried up and Noren’s lead, which the Swede thought was catchable just after he finished, began to look more and more unassailable.
Stenson did pick a shot up at the 18th to finish at eight under and a tie for third but bogeys at the 9th, 13th and 15th had already put the skids under his chances after a strong start with six birdies up until the 12th. Lowry was another to eagle the last, but double-bogeys at the 15th and 17th had done for him and he finished at seven under.
Hideto Tanihara, his playing partner, also picked up four shots on the front nine, but after playing through the rain his putt lipped out at the last and cost him a share of second, as Francesco Molinari sailed past him soon after with a birdie-birdie finish for a 68 and nine under. Nicolas Colsaerts eagled the 12th and the 18th en route to a round of 65 and a share of third.
“It feels amazing and very crazy, because I had no intention of trying to win when I started the final round,” said Noren. “I didn’t even think about it, and I came off the course quite angry on Saturday, after playing a good round of two under, so it’s a great feeling now.”
He added: “After the birdie on 12, I thought it was going very well. I got into that zone that everybody talks about, when you’ve got some adrenaline mixed with focus, and that’s what I tried to get into. I adopted that ‘no tomorrow’ kind of feeling.”
With a strong field, a prize fund of $7 million, and a challenging golf course, Noren was not the first player to compare this year’s BMW PGA Championship to one of the Majors.
“In my mind, this tournament compares a lot with a Major,” he said. “What I want to do is play well against a better field and a tougher course, and I view this [Wentworth] as a very difficult course against a very tough field. But overall, a win like this brings your confidence up, and that’s what I’ve always needed, to believe in myself, and then it’s easier to focus on what you need to do.”
A crowd of 109,684 – the second highest in the history of the BMW PGA Championship – watched the four tournament days and Celebrity Pro Am, while many stayed on after play finished to watch the Kaiser Chiefs perform a set in the tented village.
