Colsaerts cruises to victory

Colsaerts: Cool under pressure

Nicolas Colsaerts finally claimed his first European Tour title with an impressive four-shot victory at the Volvo China Open.

The Belgian struggled through an early career slump to win twice on the Challenge Tour in 2009, and carried that form through to last year when he finished 67th in the Race To Dubai.

That included a top-10 finish in this event and he once again proved his liking for the Chengdu layout with a flawless closing round of 66.

The 27-year-old had led by one heading into the final round but after picking up shots at the first third, was never under any serious pressure.

Another birdie at the par-five seventh saw him to the turn in 33, and then three birdies in four holes from the 12th gave him a nice cushion for the closing holes.

“I’m dizzy, I had to check the scorecard a couple of times to check everything was right,” said Colsaerts, who becomes the first Belgian to win on tour since 1974.

Control

“A lot of people expected me to do a lot better a lot earlier, sometimes good things come with age and hopefully this is the first one of a long series.

“I was very much in control from the third hole to the 16th tee actually. I needed to make sure I didn’t do anything silly.

“I’m going to pull out next week and do some celebrating.”

And with teenaged playing partner Chang-won Han feeling the heat, the players who eventually chased home the winner came from too far back.

Spaniard Pablo Martin fired a nine-under-par 63 to claim a share of second place alongside Danny Lee of New Zealand, who finished with five birdies in six holes for a 65.

Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen also came home strongly to finish on -20 with Ireland’s Peter Lawrie (68) being the fourth player to finish on that mark.

Christian Nilsson of Sweden was a further shot back after a 64, while the unfortunate Han had a day to forget with a 74 that saw him slip into a tie for 16th.

But for Colsaerts, it could be the start of big things and the victory secures his place in next month’s elite 24-man field for the Volvo World Match Play.