Bjork breaks through at Volvo China Open

Sweden’s Alexander Bjork looked like he’d been there before in winning a tightly-contested Volvo China Open

Alexander Bjork continued to pound on the door. This time it finally broke open.

The 27-year-old Swede has three top-sixes on the European Tour season, and was awfully close to picking up his first win. Close no more.

Bjork had to earn his win at the Volvo China Open Sunday with a bogey-free, seven-under 65. He finished at 18-under, one ahead of Spain’s Adrian Otaegui.

"It’s tough to describe the emotions,” Bjork was quoted by the European Tour. “I’m really happy and really proud of myself the way I played today, it’s probably one of the best rounds of golf I ever played, the best round in the situation.“I made pretty much no mistakes today, I’m super happy. I’ve been striking the ball so well off the tee and also into the greens all week. It’s been so solid, it’s easy to play a round when the swing is there.“It’s the final day and the pressure comes on and I still hit good shots on the way in.”"

Bjork said he felt at ease entering the day. He sat one shot off the lead but was one of over a dozen names with a great shot at finishing first.

At one point, six players, including Bjork, were tied for the lead on the front nine.

England’s Jordan Smith set an early target at 16-under as he matched the low round of the tournament with a 64.

Bjork went out in three-under 33 and tied Smith with a birdie on No. 12. With others still in pursuit, Bjork took the lead at No. 15 with a birdie and kept it from Otaegui and Spaniard Jorge Campillo with another on No. 17.

Bjork failed to birdie the par-5 18th, which played as the fourth easiest hole this week at Topwin Golf and Country Club in Beijing.

Otaegui three-putted on 17 and joined playing partner Matt Wallace in needing eagles to match Bjork. Otaegui could only birdie and Wallace made par.

Bjork got it done with the putter this week, which was a bit unexpected. He finished first in putts per round (26.8) and was fifth in putts per GIR (1.67). He also hit 73.2 percent of fairways.

Bjork was 126th in strokes gained putting entering the week.

Chip shots

• Many (including myself) tagged Haotong Li to be the low Chinese this week. Instead, it was world No. 343 Ashun Wu who tied for seventh and finished just four off the lead. Wu also made an ace Sunday.
• Three others matched Smith’s Sunday 64 for the tournament’s low round: Lucas Bjerregaard (also on Sunday), China’s Daxing Jin and Jason Norris.
• A Swede has now won on the European Tour 30 years in a row thanks to Bjork’s win.
• How’s this for a scorecard? Thorbjorn Olesen on Sunday made four birdies in a row on Nos. 6-9 and then went bogey-double bogey-eagle-bogey. In the end, he leveled out for a two-under 70 and tied for 37th.
• Other notable results: T7. Paul Dunne (-14); T14. Shubhankar Sharma, defending champion Alexander Levy (-12);  T25. Joost Luiten (-10); T32. Haotong Li (-8); T45. Kiradech Aphibarnrat (-6); MC. Bernd Wiesberger (+2)
• Next week on the European Tour brings the second edition of the Golf Sixes held at Centurion Club in St. Albans, England, May 6-7. Sixteen two-man teams from 16 different nations will compete in six-hole matches to determine a champion in the lighthearted event.

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