Published July 17, 2008 on April 29, 2018

Swede Dreams for Björk in China

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Alexander Björk claimed his maiden European Tour title in some style at the Volvo China Open, the Swede soaring to a flawless 65 to come through an almighty final round battle at Topwin Golf and Country Club.

It was an exciting final day at the Beijing venue as a plethora of players moved into contention and threatened to take home China’s national open, but as the drama unfolded the 27-year-old remained calm and composed throughout to become the first Swedish winner in the 24-year history of the Volvo-sponsored event.

A birdie at the opening hole was the first of seven for Björk, who was in contention at last week’s Trophée Hassan II and had challenged for numerous European Tour titles since graduating from the Challenge Tour in 2016, and a seven-under final round was enough to see him finish one stroke clear of the pack on 18 under.

Björk said, “It’s tough to describe the emotions right now but I am really very happy. I am very proud of myself. The way I played today, it’s probably one of the best rounds of golf that I have ever played.

“I didn’t make any mistakes today. I am super happy. I have been striking the ball so good off the tee and I putted great on the greens as well. It has been so solid. It’s easy to play around when you feel like your swing is there.

“From 12, I knew I was up on the leaderboard and I saw Jordan Smith finished on 16 under so I knew I had to make birdies coming down the stretch. That helped me to stay positive and give me the strength to make birdies instead of trying to play safe.

“That was important for me to try and make birdies. I had mixed feelings on the last. I was happy with the par save but obviously, I would want to finish with a birdie. It’s a tough hole to make an eagle as well. I thought I had a pretty good chance but you never know.

“You never think you are going to win. You hope it will happen. I had a really good feeling this morning actually. I was less nervous than how I would usually be before the final round. I guess it was meant to be today.

“I missed out on the win in Hong Kong earlier this season. I had a bad finish. It was my turn to win today so I am very happy. It’s great to know that I am the first Swede to win this prestigious tournament.”

Adrian Otaegui birdied the final hole to sign for a 67 and finish in outright second while his compatriot Jorge Campillo (67) shared third place with English duo Jordan Smith (64) and Matt Wallace (68) on 16 under par.

Final Scores:

270 A Björk (Swe) 66 72 67 65,
271 A Otaegui (Esp) 68 69 67 67,
272 J Smith (Eng) 69 69 70 64, J Campillo (Esp) 69 68 68 67, M Wallace (Eng) 65 70 69 68,
273 L Bjerregaard (Den) 70 73 66 64,
274 A Wu (Chn) 70 71 66 67, P Dunne (Irl) 71 68 67 68, J Wang (Kor) 72 66 68 68, J Choi (Kor) 69 72 65 68,
275 S Kim (USA) 70 66 70 69, S Vincent (Zim) 66 74 68 67, A Pavan (Ita) 68 72 66 69,
276 S Sharma (Ind) 69 72 68 67, M Ilonen (Fin) 71 70 67 68, N Elvira (Esp) 69 67 70 70, S Lee (Kor) 68 69 70 69, A Levy (Fra) 69 73 65 69, D Jin (Chn) 64 76 69 67,
277 M Manassero (Ita) 72 68 67 70, J Scrivener (Aus) 67 69 71 70, A Chesters (Eng) 72 68 68 69, J Guerrier (Fra) 68 69 68 72, A Rai (Eng) 73 70 68 66,
278 J Luiten (Ned) 70 69 70 69, K Horne (RSA) 69 74 68 67,
279 C Hanson (Eng) 71 71 67 70, L Jensen (Den) 73 68 70 68, A Dodt (Aus) 69 72 69 69, P Larrazábal (Esp) 70 69 71 69, J Norris (Aus) 74 64 70 71,
280 A Atwal (Ind) 69 72 68 71, S Horsfield (Eng) 69 70 73 68, M Fraser (Aus) 72 71 68 69, H Li (Chn) 70 70 72 68, N Bertasio (Ita) 65 73 69 73,
281 M Shin (USA) 71 71 66 73, H Wu (Chn) 73 67 69 72, R Lee (Can) 71 68 74 68, A Da Silva (Bra) 70 73 71 67, M Tabuena (Phi) 71 72 72 66, T Olesen (Den) 74 67 70 70, R Fox (Nzl) 70 72 68 71, J Lagergren (Swe) 73 70 68 70,
282 A Quiros (Esp) 69 71 74 68, D Lipsky (USA) 68 75 67 72, R Gouveia (Por) 71 68 71 72, Y Ikeda (Jpn) 69 72 68 73, K Aphibarnrat (Tha) 73 70 69 70, E Molinari (Ita) 72 71 68 71, C Sordet (Fra) 71 70 66 75, M Kawamura (Jpn) 69 70 73 70,
283 P Meesawat (Tha) 73 68 71 71, J Suri (USA) 71 69 71 72, S Jamieson (Sco) 67 71 73 72,
284 T Pulkkanen (Fin) 70 71 73 70, M Siem (Ger) 75 68 69 72, P Pittayarat (Tha) 68 74 71 71, G Green (Mas) 73 67 71 73, R Wattel (Fra) 72 69 76 67, J Janewattananond (Tha) 74 68 71 71, P Khongwatmai (Tha) 70 72 69 73,
285 M Kinhult (Swe) 68 73 73 71, G Bhullar (Ind) 68 72 72 73,
287 J Morrison (Eng) 70 70 74 73,
288 S Kapur (Ind) 73 68 76 71, Y Liu (Chn) 70 73 72 73,
294 K Joshi (Ind) 71 71 73 79,
296 X Luo (Chn) 72 68 76 80,