Wales Open 2014: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More
Joost Luiten came through with a strong finish in a wide-open field to earn a victory at the ISPS Handa Wales Open.
There were 16 players who ended the tournament at least 10 strokes under par and eight players within two strokes of the lead. In the end, though, Luiten was able to hold onto his 54-hole lead to come away with his first win of the year.
National Club Golfer provided its look at the end of the tournament:
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Tommy Fleetwood came from nowhere to earn a tie for second place with Friday's leader Shane Lowry.
Read along for a day-by-day recap of this entertaining tournament.
Day 4 Update
This tournament was in doubt for most of Sunday with a long list of players all in contention. The earlier competitors put up some low numbers to go into the clubhouse, putting a lot of pressure on the final group of Luiten and Lowry.
While it came down to the final hole, Luiten was able to pull out the win with a final round of 71.
Here is a complete look at the final leaderboard from Wales:
| 1 | Joost Luiten | -14 | 71 |
| T2 | Tommy Fleetwood | -13 | 67 |
| T2 | Shane Lowry | -13 | 70 |
| T4 | Nicolas Colsaerts | -12 | 67 |
| T4 | Jamie Donaldson | -12 | 67 |
| T4 | Eddie Pepperrell | -12 | 67 |
| T4 | Marc Warren | -12 | 68 |
| T4 | Edoardo Molinari | -12 | 69 |
| T9 | Robert Rock | -11 | 65 |
| T9 | Andrea Pavan | -11 | 67 |
| T9 | Romain Wattel | -11 | 68 |
All scorecard information via EuropeanTour.com.
Luiten came into the day with a two-stroke lead over Lowry, but a poor start to the day ruined this advantage in a hurry, as noted by Foursum Golf:
With other players posting better scores on the front nine, it created a jumbled top of the leaderboard, as the European Tour’s official account highlighted:
Two of the more impressive performances of the day came from Nicolas Colsaerts and Jamie Donaldson, who each shot a 67 to move into a tie for fourth place. BBC Wales provided a look at Donaldson’s start:
"WALES OPEN: Jamie Donaldson is now just 3 strokes from the lead. He's -10 after 3 birdies from his opening 6 holes.
— BBC Wales Sport (@BBCWalesSport) September 21, 2014"
Colsaerts had a rockier start early but used a back-nine score of 31 to remain in contention going into the clubhouse.
Meanwhile, Eddie Pepperell had six birdies to get himself to 12-under.
Still, the best finish of the day went to Fleetwood, who finished 13 strokes under par thanks to an incredible run on his final five holes:
Despite all of these challengers, Luiten was able to recover from a mediocre start to have a strong second half of his round. He had three birdies on the back nine to get back to par, which was good enough to hold on for the narrow lead.
Before the round, the Dutch player discussed his recent success while lamenting his inability to qualify for the Ryder Cup, via The Associated Press (h/t CBSSports.com):
"Since the qualifying process ended I have been fourth and then fifth last week, so if you have these last couple events counting for the qualification of the Ryder Cup, maybe I may have had a chance.
But then we know the date when qualification ends and you have to play well before that and I didn't do that.
"
While he will be home watching the Ryder Cup, he can at least take solace in the fact that he ended his year as well as possible and he hopes to keep that momentum going forward.
After this strong performance throughout the week from the 28-year-old player, it is clear he ready to become a more consistent contender on the European Tour.
Day 3 Update
Joost Luiten took the lead off Shane Lowry in the third round of the 2014 Wales Open, setting up a tight finish as we head into the final day of competition at Celtic Manor.
The Dutchmen played a six-under 65 on Saturday to grab a two-shot lead at the top of the clubhouse leaderboard, but given Lowry's consistent form in 2014, anything will be possible during Sunday's round.
| 1 | Joost Luiten | -14 | 65 |
| 2 | Shane Lowry | -12 | 68 |
| T3 | Gregory Havret | -11 | 66 |
| T3 | Thongchai Jaidee | -11 | 67 |
| 5 | Edoardo Molinari | -10 | 68 |
| T6 | Steve Webster | -9 | 64 |
| T6 | Marc Warren | -9 | 67 |
| T6 | Tommy Fleetwood | -9 | 68 |
| T9 | Eddie Pepperell | -8 | 63 |
| T9 | Romain Wattel | -8 | 64 |
All scorecard information via EuropeanTour.com.
The favourite coming into the tournament, Luiten equaled his score from the opening round by playing consistent, clean golf. With three birdies on the front nine and three on the back nine, he did three shots better than Lowry on the day, who finished three-under 68.
Both birdied the second hole and carded the same score through the front nine, as Lowry attempted to hold off the charge from Luiten, per European Tour:
He couldn't keep pace on the back nine, however, scoring par throughout. Per European Tour, Luiten knows all too well which lead he'll have to defend on Sunday:
Gregory Havret and Thongchai Jaidee each sit just one stroke behind Lowry, and both will also be in the running to win this year's Wales Open on Sunday.
Eddie Pepperell took the biggest leap on the leaderboard on Saturday, thanks to a round of eight-under 63. Five birdies on the back nine have him comfortably in the top ten, and he told Europeantour.com a promise to his girlfriend had a lot to do with his play:
"I played really good all day to be honest. Every aspect of my game was good, when I needed to get up and down or hole a crucial four-footer or whatever it was, then I just did that today.
"
It's hard to rank it but that's as good as I've played for a long, long time. I promised my girlfriend I would try to get us a lie-in on Sunday, so hopefully I've achieved it.
Tommy Fleetwood remains the man on form for Europe's Ryder Cup team, shooting his third consecutive round of three-under 68. Bogeys on the ninth and 12th hole kept him from challenging the top duo for the 2014 Wales Open title, but the young Brit will be focused on next week's showpiece.
Sunday's final round looks set to go down to the wire, and given Luiten's superb form of late, he should be the favourite thanks to his two-stroke lead. Lowry has the ability to take advantage of any mistake, however, as the 2014 Wales Open could come down to the final shot.
Day 2 Update
Irishman Shane Lowry shot an excellent 65 on the second day of the 2014 ISPS Handa Wales Open. That maintained his narrow advantage at the top of the leaderboard:
Overall, the day was a tough one for some Team Europe Ryder Cup wild card picks. In particular, Scot Stephen Gallacher endured a day he'd likely love to forget.
Gallacher, a surprise Ryder Cup selection, shot a miserable 70 just one day after hitting 78. That was enough to condemn him to missing the cut, though Gallacher tried to downplay the significance this close to his first Ryder Cup, per an AP report (h/t ESPN Golf):
"I've missed the cut but there's no alarm bells ringing and I am looking forward now to next week. I just felt that I was trying maybe a wee bit too hard yesterday and teeing up thinking too much about next week, whereas today I was a lot more focused. ... I feel good both mentally and physically so there should be no concern come next Friday.
"
However, his fellow Ryder Cup teammate Lee Westwood showed great resolve to turn a two over par into par and produce a solid finish to a difficult day.
Here's what the leaderboard looks like after Day 2:
| Position | Golfer | To Par | Today's Score |
| 1 | Shane Lowry | -9 | 65 |
| T2 | Joost Luiten | -8 | 69 |
| T2 | Nicolas Colsaerts | -8 | 68 |
| T4 | Thongchai Jaidee | -7 | 67 |
| T4 | Edoardo Molinari | -7 | 63 |
| T6 | Patrik Sjoland | -6 | 67 |
| T6 | Tommy Fleetwood | -6 | 68 |
| T6 | Ricardo Santos | -6 | 68 |
| T6 | Gregory Havret | -6 | 67 |
| T10 | Phillip Price | -5 | 66 |
All scorecard information via EuropeanTour.com.
Lowry appeared to have surprised himself with his excellent day. Despite an almost flawless showing on the course at Celtic Manor, Lowry noted his previous struggles in this event, per EuropeanTour.com:
"I'm pretty happy. I've never, ever done well here before, so to be leading after two rounds is nice.
"
There is still a long way to go in the tournament but I'm really looking forward to the weekend.
I didn't drive it that good yesterday but still shot a decent score. I drove it a lot better today, drove it a lot straighter and gave myself a lot of chances and rolled in a few putts, so it was nice.
Lowry's scorecard breakdown shows a golfer currently in fine form on this course. He hit six birdies and 12 pars from his 18 holes.
Whatever his previous difficulties at Celtic Manor were, Lowry certainly appears to have put them behind him. But the Irishman wasn't the only player to produce some excellent golf on the day.
Italian Edoardo Molinari made lightning-fast work of the course. He hit a staggering eight birdies and even managed to par the other 10 holes.
Molinari left many impressed by the quick work he made of Celtic Manor:
If he keeps up this sort of pace, Molinari can become a major threat to the top of the leaderboard. However, Lowry won't be looking that far as he'll likely be more concerned with second-placed Dutchman Joost Luiten.
He produced some fine shots as part of a day that saw him score 69 and briefly lead the pack:
Luiten narrowly missed out on being picked as a Ryder Cup wild card, but he is certainly proving his mettle at Celtic manor. Expect him to keep the pressure on Lowry during the competition's third day.
Day 1 Update
Joost Luiten holds a one-shot lead at the top of the leaderboard after the opening round, shooting a six-under 65 thanks to a blistering back nine.
Nicolas Colsaerts and Andrew McArthur are his closest competitors, while Tommy Fleetwood leads the Ryder Cup hopefuls ahead of next week's showdown.
| 1 | Joost Luiten | -6 | 65 |
| T2 | Nicolas Colsaerts | -5 | 66 |
| T2 | Andrew McArthur | -5 | 66 |
| T4 | Justin Walters | -4 | 67 |
| T4 | Robert Rock | -4 | 67 |
| T4 | Sam Walker | -4 | 67 |
| T7 | Tommy Fleetwood | -3 | 68 |
| T7 | Ricardo Santos | -3 | 68 |
| T7 | Shane Lowry | -3 | 68 |
| T7 | Steve Webster | -3 | 68 |
The full leaderboard can be accessed through the website of the European Tour, by clicking here. Video highlights can be found here.
Luiten opened his account with eight straight pars before finishing the front nine with a birdie, but he raced to the top of the leaderboard with an excellent performance after the turn.
A bogey on the 17th was his only blemish as he recorded six birdies on his way to an excellent score of six-under. BBC Wales Sport thought the Dutchman looked very comfortable:
"WALES OPEN: We have a new leader. Joost Luiten is -6 through 17. Making it look easy with 5 birdies on the back nine.
— BBC Wales Sport (@BBCWalesSport) September 18, 2014"
Belgium's Colsaerts set a European Tour record on the 18th hole, driving the ball 447 yards on his way to an eagle on the par five, as shared by the course's Twitter feed:
The 2012 Ryder Cup hero used that momentum to excel on the front nine, hitting four birdies to finish with a five-under 66. He told Europeantour.com the sight of this year's Ryder Cup participants hanging out together motivated him on Thursday, having missed out on a selection himself:
"I saw them having dinner and thought 'I wish I was in that room. It's their adventure and I am not part of it, but once you play in one Ryder Cup, you don't want to miss another one."
Fleetwood appears to be in excellent form going into the Ryder Cup, finishing the day with a three-under 68. The Englishman had his struggles on the front nine with two bogeys but more than made up for it with four birdies and no blemishes on the back nine, displaying excellent control off the tee.
TeamISM were impressed by his performance:
Fleetwood looked very comfortable with his swing, playing a very relaxed game. The 23-year-old would undoubtedly love to get a result in Wales, but his overall demeanour at Celtic Manor looks very promising with the Ryder Cup in mind.
The same can't be said for Stephen Gallacher, who had a disastrous first round on Thursday. The Scot recorded seven bogeys on his way to a seven-over 78, and Sport24's Wade Pretorius was anything but impressed:
Gallacher still has five days to turn his form around, but his early showings in Wales don't look great for Team Europe's chances.
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