Laurie Canter (-14) has won the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship after signing a 69 on the Sunday round and defeating Pablo Larrazábal (-14, today a round of 70) and Daniel Brown (-14, today a round of 70) on the first playoff hole with a birdie. The Spanish player fought until the last breath for his tenth victory on the DP World Tour, but this time he couldn’t seal the deal when he seemingly had an excellent opportunity, reaching the 72nd hole of the tournament as the sole leader.
And that 72nd hole of Pablo sums up, in its painful outcome, the story of his final round, because the Barcelonian took three putts, made a bogey, and brought Canter and Brown into the equation, who had already finished playing. The putter, the darn putter.
Because Larrazábal played a fantastic final round from tee to green today, with almost absolute control of the mid and long game, but without any luck on the greens. And something of this, of luck, is usually needed to win when you’re wielding the sword. He left many very good chances along the way, and despite that, he still stepped onto the 18th tee with a well-earned and calculated lead. Once he put the ball on the fairway on that last hole, he was practically touching his tenth trophy with his fingertips, but a not-so-fine wedge and the aforementioned three final putts cruelly sent him to a playoff with the two Englishmen. He had the tenth there, a metre and a half (maybe 1.8 metres) away, but his second putt on that 72nd hole went low.
Then, he sent his ball into the water from the tee on the first and only playoff hole, and although he hit a great shot after dropping and still left himself a clear chance to save par on that par 4, a great shot from Canter from the centre of the fairway closed the matter.
Everyone will have their miseries to tell, but some more than others. Canter, for example, also missed some short putts throughout this last round, but they weren’t as many as Pablo’s, not by a long shot, and he also managed an eagle-bonus on the 6th hole by holing it from off the green on this short par 4, when he was about 25 metres from the hole, with a magnificent chip, indeed. Brown, however, almost couldn’t do one less today, which is undoubtedly quite a skill, so we must keep an eye on this Englishman, who continues to grow. Perhaps that’s why the Spanish player’s lacklustre finish stings even more, as he was once again proving how reliable he is when starting a Sunday in the last groups.
David Puig (-13) and Iván Cantero (-13) also weren’t far from entering that playoff. The former, who had started playing two hours and a quarter before the leading group, delivered the best result of the day, an extraordinary card of 64 strokes. From the moment he finished (with a bogey on the 16th and birdies on 17 and 18), it was clear that his final total wouldn’t be enough to truly fight for the win, but the truth is he wasn’t that far off. The Asturian, on the other hand, will be kicking himself, because a late bogey on the 18th took him out of the playoff, although he probably thought at that moment, quite logically, that he needed one more birdie. A great tournament, in any case, for these two Spaniards, destined for many varied afternoons of glory.
Even Jorge Campillo (-11) seemed to get into the fight for the win with an early three-under, but once again a stumble on one of the last par 5s of the round, just like on Saturday, took him out of contention. In reality, this Sunday in Bahrain was apotheotic, if we consider the alternatives and emotions experienced throughout the day, with more than a dozen legitimate contenders for victory when the leading group’s round had already passed the halfway point. Some came in and others went out, but then rejoined, the wind was just right, the pace of play was lively… Golf, in this way, is one of the best and most rewarding experiences for the fan.
Larrazábal remains with nine wins, agreed. And he will be sore for a while. But in the long run, as he approaches 42, he has done nothing in Bahrain but reaffirm that his game, charisma, and skills are still there to cause many upsets.
