NEW Zealander Frank Nobilo yesterday got up and down from a greenside
bunker at the final hole to pip David Feherty and Gordon Brand Jr by a
single stroke in the Mediterranean Open at El Saler.
It was a third European victory for the 32-year-old Nobilo, whose
great-grandfather was a member of a gang of Italian pirates who pillaged
their way around the Mediterranean, and he collected the first prize of
#66,000.
Two strokes clear overnight, he shot a level-par 72 for a nine-under
total of 279. Feherty returned a 69 and Brand a 68, but it was not quite
enough and they had to settle for runners-up cheques of #34,740.
Both had birdie chances on the last, but Brand, without a win since
the 1989 Benson and Hedges International, was ''weak and short'' with
his 20-footer, and Feherty just mis-read his 10-foot attempt.
Nobilo, only recently recovered from a back injury that kept him out
of action for two months, pointed to a 220-yard No.3-wood shot at the
fourteenth as the key moment. ''It was the shot of my life,'' he
commented. ''I hit it to 15 feet, and although I didn't make the putt,
the par felt like a birdie.''
In the testing wind he parred every hole on the inward-half to deny
the chasing pack, sinking an eight-foot putt on the sixteenth to
preserve his advantage.
Brand Jr, who had made birdie putts of 10 feet on the sixteenth and
seventeenth to close within a stroke, said: ''It was asking a bit much
to finish birdie-birdie-birdie and I was delighted with a 68.''
A member of the 1987 and 1989 Ryder Cup teams, 34-year-old Brand just
missed out on a place two years ago, but stated: ''If I keep playing as
I have here I fancy my chances of getting back in.''
Final aggregates (British and Irish unless stated):
279 -- F Nobilo (New Zealand) 71, 69, 67, 72 (#66,660).
280 -- G Brand Jr 70, 72, 70, 68; D Feherty 70, 69, 72, 69 (#34,740
each).
281 -- J M Olazabal (Spain) 71, 69, 75, 66; C Rocca (Italy) 70, 72,
71, 68; S Luna (Spain) 67, 72, 72, 70; T Levet (France) 71, 70, 69, 71.
282 -- J Payne 68, 67, 78, 69; D Gilford 70, 73, 70, 69; J Parnevik
(Sweden) 71, 67, 73, 71; M Lanner (Sweden) 73, 69, 69, 71; M Roe 69, 70,
70, 73.
283 -- M Davis 68, 72, 74, 69; C Montgomerie 69, 72, 70, 72; G Ralph
74, 68, 68, 73; R Chapman 72, 71, 67, 73; S Torrance 71, 70, 68, 74.
284 -- E Romero (Argentina) 68, 73, 75, 68; J M Canizares (Spain) 71,
70, 75, 68; F Lindgren (Sweden) 71, 73, 67, 73.
285 -- B Langer (Germany) 72, 74, 69, 70; E O'Connell 75, 68, 70, 72.
286 -- J Hobday (S Africa) 74, 68, 74, 70; M Sunesson (Sweden) 74, 70,
72, 70; V Singh (Fiji) 69, 74, 73, 70; P Lawrie 77, 67, 71, 71; A Hunter
72, 69, 74, 71; D W Basson (S Africa) 72, 71, 72, 71.
287 -- J McHenry 72, 69, 76, 70; G Evans 73, 68, 72, 74; P Way 75, 68,
70, 74; J Rystrom (Sweden) 69, 76, 68, 74; P Baker 70, 71, 71, 75.
288 -- R Claydon 72, 70, 74, 72; P Price 73, 71, 74, 70; D Mijovic
(Canada) 73, 72, 73, 70; P Broadhurst 72, 69, 73, 74; J Haeggman
(Sweden) 69, 75, 70, 74.
289 -- C Moody 73, 72, 71, 73; M Harwood (Australia) 69, 70, 76, 74; S
Field 71, 74, 72, 72; P Walton 72, 74, 72, 71.
290 -- H-P Thuel (Germany) 69, 73, 75, 73; P Hall 71, 74, 73, 72; I
Palmer (S Africa) 72, 73, 73, 72; C Cassells 72, 73, 75, 70.
291 -- B Lane 72, 73, 74, 72; A Garrido (Spain) 72, 74, 73, 72.
292 -- D J Russell 73, 73, 70, 76; D Hospital (Spain) 72, 72, 74, 74;
J Rivero (Spain) 73, 73, 72, 74; K Waters 72, 71, 75, 74; V Fernandez
(Argentina) 72, 73, 75, 72; G Cali (Italy) 73, 73, 76, 70.
294 -- G Turner (New Zealand) 72, 68, 76, 78; G J Brand 72, 73, 72,
77; R Alvarez (Argentina) 71, 68, 74, 81; J Robinson 72, 71, 76, 75; R
Boxall 73, 72, 75, 74.
295 -- R Winchester 72, 73, 73, 77.
296 -- D R Jones 72, 73, 75, 76; O Eskildsen (Denmark) 72, 74, 75, 75.
297 -- B Malley (USA) 73, 71, 76, 77; C McClellan (USA) 70, 72, 80,
75; A Hare 77, 68, 79, 73.
298 -- R Lee 71, 74, 81, 72.
299 -- M McLean 76, 70, 75, 78; M Hallberg (Sweden) 76, 69, 78, 76.
300 -- A Lebouc 75, 71, 75, 79; R Mackenzie (Chile) 75, 71, 79, 75.
303 -- A Binaghi (Italy) 73, 71, 79. 80.
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