Lee Westwood wins the hickory challenge in Crans-Montana
Close House attached professional Lee Westwood took home the cow-bell trophy for the Turn Back Time two-hole hickory challenge after the third round of the OMEGA European Masters in Switzerland.
Westwood faced stiff competition from Paolo Quirici, 2013 World Hickory Champion, Danny Willett and Miguel Ángel Jiménez with all four players taking on the 10th and 18th holes of Golf-Club Crans-sur-Sierre.
The challenge was full of dramas from the outset. Willett was the first to tee off – landing his ball in a bunker before recovering to make a par. Westwood finished the 10th with a superb putt to share the lead with Jiménez and Willett. Jiménez was unlucky off the 18th tee and was forced to attempt an escape from behind a fence, although this didn’t quite go according to plan and left him with a disappointing bogey.
Play ended with Westwood and Willett facing each other in a play-off, which was a nearest the pin challenge from the drop zone on the 18th. After both players’ balls didn’t make the green, they attempted the shot again and Westwood was the closest.
Westwood said: “It was great fun; a completely different feel to what we’re used to – you have to wait for it a little bit longer. The challenge was a good finish to a great day of golf.”
The event was set up to commemorate the 70 years the OMEGA European Masters has been hosted in Crans-Montana, making it the longest running golf tournament at the same venue in Europe.
