Molinari fends off Westwood in HSBC Champions thriller

SHANGHAI – Italy’s Francesco Molinari outlasted new world number one Lee Westwood of England yesterday to take the HSBC Champions title in Shanghai in a thrilling finale that went down to the last hole.

Westwood needed to sink an eagle putt on the 18th to force a play-off but his effort drifted wide, giving Molinari a well-deserved second career victory after four impressive rounds in Shanghai.Molinari and Westwood had ended each day first and second, pulling away from the rest of the pack as they duelled each other, but Westwood was never able to seize the lead despite showing the form that has earned him the top spot.’He is the number one in the world and played fantastic golf, putting me under real pressure all the time and all the way to the end,’ Molinari said.’The (other players) were seven or eight shots behind and we just focused on each other and trying to birdie every hole because we were both playing well and knew that par was not good enough.’Molinari shot a five-under 67 yesterday to end the tournament a combined 19 under par, while Westwood’s 67 left him one stroke back.Scotland’s Richie Ramsay tied with Englishman Luke Donald for third place on nine under par in Asia’s premier golf tournament at the Sheshan International Golf Club. A final-day 67 lifted Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy into fourth place.Struggling US superstar Tiger Woods rebounded from disappointing middle rounds with a face-saving 68 on Sunday but that left him with only a share of sixth place for the tournament at seven under.It was his first tournament in five years without the world number one ranking after Westwood supplanted him at the top last week.- Nampa-AFP

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