Newport, Jun 02: England's Ian Poulter won the Wales Open at Celtic Manor after a closing 2-under-par 70 for an 18-under 270 total earned him a three-stroke victory on Sunday (June 1).
Poulter, who shared the lead from the first day after a course record-equalling 65 and retained it by the end of each round, won 411,100 USD for his fourth European Tour title in as many seasons on the circuit. It was not all straightforward for Poulter, though, as successive dropped shots on the 15th and 16th holes cut his lead to one stroke ahead of Australian Jarrod Moseley. But he made a secure par at the next before chipping to two metres at the par five last for a birdie to secure the biggest cheque of his career. Moseley (69) bogeyed the last after a wayward drive to share second with South Africa's Darren Fichardt and Jonathan Lomas of England who both had 68s.


Leading scores after the final round (British unless stated): 270 Ian Poulter 65 67 68 70 273 Darren Fichardt (South Africa) 68 67 70 68, Jonathan Lomas 66 71 68 68, Jarrod Moseley (Australia) 74 67 63 69 275 Mark McNulty (Zimbabwe) 69 67 69 70, Andrew Coltart 68 69 67 71 276 Santiago Luna (Spain) 68 69 70 69, Peter Fowler (Australia) 67 72 68 69, Phillip Price 68 66 68 74 278 Iain Pyman 73 67 68 70, Jarmo Sandelin (Sweden) 67 73 68 70, Jamie Donaldson 68 71 68 71, Bradley Dredge 71 69 67 71, Fredrik Jacobson (Sweden) 71 68 64 75 279 Richard Green (Australia) 67 70 72 70, Jean-Francois Remesy (France) 68 72 69 70, Roger Chapman 74 68 67 70 280 Terry Price (Australia) 71 71 68 70, Peter Lawrie (Ireland) 68 75 67 70, Christian Cevaer (France) 71 72 65 72

Bureau Report