Trophee Hassan II 2015: Daily Leaderboard Analysis, Highlights and More
With the entire golf world preparing for the Masters in two weeks, the European Tour made a stop in Morocco for the Trophee Hassan II event. Alejandro Canizares, last year's champion, is looking to make history as the first player to win this tournament two consecutive times.
Canizares joined a prestigious group of past winners at the Trophee Hassan II event, including Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Padraig Harrington. Those players all won before the tournament became an event sanctioned by the European Tour.
In its present form since 2010, no player has won back to back in Morocco. Canizares has his work cut out for him, as a field of 138 golfers share a goal with the 32-year-old.
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Here's an updated look at the leaderboard, as well as analysis of what happened and highlights from top performers.
| 1 | Richie Ramsay | 69 | -10 |
| 2 | Romain Wattel | 70 | -9 |
| T3 | Chris Wood | 67 | -8 |
| T3 | Pablo Larrazabal | 68 | -8 |
| T3 | Mikael Lundberg | 69 | -8 |
| T3 | George Coetzee | 70 | -8 |
| T3 | Kevin Phelan | 70 | -8 |
| T3 | Jaco Van Zyl | 70 | -8 |
The full leaderboard can be found at EuropeanTour.com.
Day 4 Recap
Richie Ramsay carded a three-under 69, staving off a hungry group atop the leaderboard to win the Trophee Hassan II. An interesting round that saw him birdie four of his six holes before falling apart and then picking it back up again on the back nine, Ramsay bested Romain Wattel by one stroke and six players by two strokes.
The win is Ramsay's third on the European Tour. He also took home the 2009 South African Open championship and the 2012 Omega European Masters. The 31-year-old also has two wins on the Challenge Tour.
The round started off brilliantly for Ramsay, as he birdied four straight holes from No. 3 to No. 6, giving him what looked like an insurmountable lead. Two holes later, Ramsay was back to scrambling near the top of the leaderboard. A bogey on the seventh led to a triple on the eighth, erasing all the good work he'd done in a matter of 11 strokes to make the turn at even par.
Everything changed for the better on No. 12. Staring at a birdie putt on the par 3, Ramsay took a deep breath and nailed the putt that would help him go ahead for good. He'd birdie the next two holes to give him three straight and coast the rest of the way to victory.
“I stood over the putt on the 12th hole and I just thought my putter feels absolutely great, I could see all the lines," Ramsay said, per the European Tour. "I thought 'just go for it, this is your time.' I pretty much took it by the scruff of the neck the next two holes and the seven iron on the last is probably one of the best shots I’ve ever hit in terms of visualisation and execution, it was just perfect.”
Wattel, who came into Sunday tied atop the leaderboard, carded a two-under 70 and finished alone in second place. Andrew McArthur, the third leader, was unable to follow up his 67 from Saturday and shot five over. He finished in a tie for 34th place.
Day 3 Recap
The final day of the Trophee Hassan II promises to be a spectacular occasion with 10 players all within one shot of the lead, with the closest finish in a European Tour event for many years.
Scotland's Andrew McArthur shot a very credible 67 in his third round at the famous Agadir course, tying for the lead with France's Romain Wattel and countryman Richie Ramsay.
Wattel also shot 67 for the day, in what were extremely difficult weather conditions, with the wind speed picking up and causing havoc.
The swirling wind damaged many players' approach play, with the final day threatening more of the same elements.
Wattel was the bigger winner of the day as he built momentum at the end of his round, grabbing four shots off his card in the last four holes.
The extended leaderboard shows that the top 30 players of the tournament are all within five shots of the lead, meaning anything can happen on Sunday, as many golfers race for a place at next month's Masters competition.
Ramsay played some of the most inspiring golf of the day, with a solid approach play that usurped many of his opponents.
The European Tour posted some of his brilliant play on social media:
Ramsay shot five birdies through his round, scoring three of them from the third hole through the sixth. However, bogies on the first and ninth stunted his charge.
But the Scot shot level par through the final nine holes and earned a share of the lead with his effort of one-under for the day.
McArthur was up with the most consistent players of Saturday, scoring birdies on holes three and seven, and then repeating this success on 10, 11 and 16.
And a magnificent eagle on 15 ensured the golfer shot up to the top of the leaderboard.
The day's best round in the top echelon of the board went to Mikael Lundberg, who shot a magnificent six-under for the day, tying him for 11th place.
The tricky weather conditions mean there is no favourite going into the final day, with luck playing a large part as to who handles the winner's cheque at the end of the competition.
McArthur will feel confident after his excellent form on Saturday, but a final-round score of 10-under could see any one of the golfers grab glory.
Day 2 Recap
The second day of the Trophee Hassan II event saw movement at the top of the leaderboard, thanks in part to the collapse of Round 1 leader Adrien Saddier.
After shooting a stellar 65 on Thursday, Saddier went off the rails with a five-over 77 in the second round. His day seemed to start well with a birdie on the first hole, but a birdie on No. 5 was sandwiched between two bogeys and followed by an eighth-hole double bogey.
Even though it was just one bad day, there is a crushing element to Saddier's performance. He said after the opening round, via The Associated Press (h/t ESPN) that a win here would be critical for his career moving forward:
"I was very grateful to get an invite to play here. This place is just unbelievable. It was a great start, and I kept it going. ...
If I could get a win, it would change my schedule, as at the moment I'm playing on the Challenge Tour. It's almost my best round. I shot 64 in Qatar last year, which was eight under.
"
If there is a silver lining for Saddier, he's only four shots back of the lead and has proven capable of making that up in a single round. It's a long climb up the mountain after a 77, but the evidence does give him some hope.
On the other side of the coin, Richie Ramsay had the low round on Friday with a six-under 66 that featured no bogeys and a stellar 31 on the back nine. He's chasing his first victory on the European Tour since 2012, so this is an excellent start heading into the weekend.
Another player still lurking in the shadows and waiting to make a move is George Coetzee, who also provided one of the day's highlights with this shot on the ninth hole, via the European Tour's official Twitter:
Coetzee is fighting for a win and the chance to play at the Masters in two weeks. He didn't capitalize on his five-under 67 from Thursday, shooting even par, but things could have been worse. The 28-year-old will start the third round just one shot behind the co-leaders.
Speaking of those leaders, even though Ramsay had the best round, he's in a battle for the top spot with three other players tied at six-under par, via the European Tour's official Twitter:
Rafael Cabrera-Bello has back-to-back days of 69, Richard Green keeps plugging along consistently with a 68 and 70 through two rounds, while Oliver Farr did the inverse.
Farr has had two rounds that largely mirror each other. He's birdied the eighth, 13th and 17th holes, with bogeys on No. 18. The difference on Friday was two extra birdies on the 10th and 11th holes, which got him to 68.
Given the large cluster of players tied for the lead, as well as eight others only two shots back at four under par, the stage is set for a massive weekend in Morocco. Many golfers have been able to play well, but no one has been consistent with low scores to pull away from the pack.
Add in players like Coetzee and Marcel Siem, among others, vying for a spot in the Masters, there's going to be plenty of drama playing out over the final 36 holes.
Day 1 Recap
France's Adrien Saddier came out of the gate roaring with a seven-under 65. There was evidence on the first hole this was going to be a great day for the 22-year-old thanks to a birdie. Things would only get better from there, as this scorecard from the European Tour shows:
Not bad for a player who only has three competitive rounds under his belt, though keeping the momentum going on Friday will be the trick.
After his round, per the European Tour on Twitter, Saddier didn't seem like he was concerned about duplicating that effort on Friday or lacking in confidence:
For a young player still trying to carve out a niche, Saddier understands what his role is in this tournament. He doesn't have much room to breathe because there were many low scores on the Golf du Palais Royal course.
Notably, Daniel Gaunt is right on Saddier's heels. He used a late birdie run on Nos. 15, 16 and 17 to finish six under par. He did have a hiccup on No. 18 with a bogey that dropped him out of a tie for the lead, but that was the only blemish in a terrific round.
One player who's battling the pressure of needing a win here to get a shot at Augusta on April 9 is George Coetzee.
Fortunately, the South Africa native put himself in a good position on Thursday with a five-under 67, tying Gaunt, Chris Wood and David Drysdale for second place. He's certainly trending in the right direction, posting this round after a win at the Tshwane Open two weeks ago.
That's also an impressive climb for Coetzee, who started the month in disastrous fashion by missing the African Open cut thanks to an opening-round 75. He's got more work to do over the next three days, but being in contention after 18 holes shows what happened two weeks ago wasn't an accident.
Further down the leaderboard, things were not working so well for Canizares. The Spanish standout may not finish last this weekend, but he's more likely to finish closer to the bottom of the pack than the top with an opening-round 77.
At five over par, Canizares is tied for 115th. Barring a miracle run on Friday, his chances of being around for the weekend, let alone defending the title, are virtually nonexistent at this point. His problems mainly came on the back nine with two double-bogeys on Nos. 12 and 16.
Not as far down after Thursday was Dave Horsey, who deserves a special mention after shooting a two-under 70. Per the European Tour on Twitter, this marks his 18th consecutive round of par or better:
For perspective, Rory McIlroy's active streak in PGA Tour events is nine consecutive rounds at par or better. Horsey's climb is steep, being five shots back after the first round, but at least he's got a run of consistency going that few players can match.
Joining Horsey at two under par is Pablo Larrazabal, who had to overcome a few bogey miscues on Nos. 11 and 12, as well as nearly breaking an iron on this shot:
It's still early in the season, but Larrazabal is enjoying one of his best years on tour. Per the European Tour website, his scoring average of 70.78 is the second lowest of his career after 2011 (70.76).
With a new champion likely to be crowned for the sixth time in six years, a crowded field at the top led by Saddier certainly gives this year's Trophee Hassan II tournament all the makings of a special event.
The rash of low scores on Thursday suggests it will be impossible for anyone to pull away from the field. Gaunt, Coetzee and the entire group at five under par are going to be waiting for Saddier to make his first mistake so they can pounce.
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