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Noel Prentice

'Stephen has been around for a long time so good for him,' says Bjorn

The good guy wins after all. Welshman Stephen Dodd withstood all that Denmark's Thomas Bjorn threw at him yesterday and emerged with his maiden European Tour win in the US$1 million Volvo China Open.

Dodd started the day three shots ahead of favourite Bjorn and finished with a three-shot victory. But it took three birdies in four crucial holes starting the back nine to keep Bjorn at bay.

'You have to take your hat off to him,' said Bjorn. 'Here's a win for the good guy. Stephen is definitely one of the good guys.'

Dodd, 38, had trouble describing his victory, his first as a professional. 'It's going to take time to sink in. I don't know what to say. I'm obviously delighted to have won. It's been a long time coming and taken a little longer than I thought.'

Dodd led from the second round when he mastered freezing conditions to shoot a two-under 70 at the Silport Golf Club. A four-under par 68 yesterday was just what his Cardiff-based coach Terry Hansen ordered and a 12-under 276 total brought Dodd his biggest payday - US$166,000.

'My goal at the start of the year was to win. Now I will have to sit down and re-evaluate things.'

Dodd finished 58th on the 2004 European money list with nearly Euro400,000. The co-sanctioned China Open, celebrating its 10th anniversary, is the opening event on the 2005 European Tour calendar and the third-last event on the 2004 Asian Tour.

Dodd has been through the school of hard knocks, having been to the European Tour qualifying school 10 times. But he never doubted he had what it took. 'I always believed I was good enough,' he said. He added he had done it mostly on his own, without sponsors, but with the help of his parents.

Dodd's birdie blitz starting the back nine proved the difference. 'Thomas started to play well and it was important I responded,' he said. 'All I wanted to do was my very best and that's what I did. Sometimes the situation is out of your hands - when the other person plays well. This time it was in my hands.'

Bjorn was five strokes behind at the sixth hole and the closest he got was two back when Dodd three-putted the par-three 17th. But when the Welshman smacked his driver down the middle of the fairway on the last it was all over, and he put the icing on the cake with a birdie. Bjorn could only par.

Fellow-Dane Soren Hansen, who was also three behind Dodd starting the day, got to seven under at the 11th but dropped three strokes on the last seven holes to finish tied for eighth.

'Stephen has been around for a long time, so good for him,' a humble Bjorn said.

'There was not much I could do, he played really well. I made that charge [four birdies in six holes from the ninth] and I can't play much better than I did in that stretch. That's where you need to turn the tournament around but Stephen did all the right things.'

Bjorn believed a 67 would be good enough but admitted he underestimated it by two strokes.

'I needed to shoot a 65 to match him and on this golf course, that's tough. I nearly holed it for two on the 13th and walked off with a four; that's golf. Sometimes they go for you, sometimes they don't.'

Bjorn will cross swords with Dodd again at this week's Omega Hong Kong Open at Fanling.

'I came here just trying to get myself in the tournament and get that feeling of having the chance to win and that's what I have done this week,' he said. 'You finish second; you accept it. I'll go to Hong Kong now and try to win that.'



'Nice guy' finally finishes first