Connor Syme (-11) has won the KLM Open. It is his first victory on the DP World Tour just days before turning 30. Judging by his amateur career, this first win was expected to come sooner, but we all know that golf has its own timing. It comes to each person when it comes.
Syme won on a Sunday with less excitement than expected at The International in Amsterdam. The only one to blame was the champion himself, as the playing conditions were very tough, with a lot of wind throughout the day and quite a bit of rain coming and going. It was a day for tough guys.
However, Syme, who started with a two-shot lead over Joakim Lagergren (-9), managed his advantage masterfully. No victory is easy, but he really didn’t suffer at any point. He played very orderly, with a lot of composure, staying out of trouble and saving the most complicated situations with great short game. He was so solid that it’s striking he hadn’t won yet. It’s also true that none of those behind him managed to really challenge him, starting with Lagergren himself, who didn’t play badly but was struggling more than Syme.
Syme was the last of a generation of golfers that brought great excitement to an entire country to win. We refer to Scotland, which in golf is not just any country. It was thought that the next Scottish Major winner could be among them. It was the generation meant to fill the huge gap left by the departure of Colin Montgomerie, a grey period in which only Stephen Gallagher and Paul Lawrie, precisely the last Scottish Major winner in 1999, managed to bring some joy.
In that generation, spanning from 1993 to 1996 and who won a European Amateur Team Championship, are Robert MacIntyre, Ewen Ferguson, Calum Hill, Grant Forrest, and Connor Syme. The first four had already won on the DP World Tour, and only Syme was missing. Interestingly, he achieved it the week MacIntyre, undoubtedly the brightest of that generation and the one with the most chances of winning that coveted Major for Scotland, defends his title in Canada on the PGA Tour. The curious interconnectedness of golf. Indeed, Syme played in such a way that it seems impossible to think this KLM Open is his only victory in his career.
As for the Spaniards, Jorge Campillo (-2) and Manu Elvira (-2) were the best classified. They finished in the top 10, specifically in seventh position with two final rounds of 69 and 70 strokes. Just outside the top ten was Rafa Cabrera Bello (-1), with a round today of 72 strokes, the first over par of the week. Both Nacho Elvira (PAR) and Ángel Ayora (PAR) secured two very valuable top 20s. They made the most of the final day with cards of 69 and 66 strokes. Ayora delivered the best card of the day. Finally, his putting worked, and it showed in the result.
Further back were Iván Cantero (+1), Ángel Hidalgo (+2), Eugenio Chacarra (+3), Alejandro del Rey (+6), Alfredo García Geredia (+6), and Joel Moscatel (+20).
