* Swede wins his fifth PGA title with five-shot victory
* McIlroy takes over as world number one from Donald
(Adds details, quotes)
April 15 (Reuters) – Sweden’s Carl Pettersson won the
Heritage Classic at Hilton Head on Sunday to claim his fifth PGA
Tour title as Luke Donald gave up his number one ranking to Rory
McIlroy.
Pettersson shot a final round two-under-par 69 to finish the
tournament at 14-under, a comfortable five shots clear of his
nearest rival, former Masters champion Zach Johnson (70).
“The swing felt good,” Pettersson told reporters. “I felt
calm. It was a great feeling today.”
It was his first PGA Tour win since the 2010 Canadian Open
and allowed him to match Jesper Parnevik’s total for most won by
a Swedish player.
Donald needed to finish eighth or better to retain his
number one ranking but the Englishman tied for 37th after a
final round 71 for a two-over total 286.
Northern Ireland’s McIlroy will leapfrog back to the top
when the updated rankings are released on Monday.
Colt Knost’s chances of winning his first PGA Tour title
vanished with a 74 that put him third, one stroke behind
American Johnson. Kevin Stadler (68) and Billy Mayfair (69) tied
for fourth at six under par, a distant eight shots back.
Tne outcome was never in doubt after Pettersson birdied
three of the first five holes on Sunday.
“Getting off to a birdie on number one was great,” said the
Swede, who sank a 24-foot putt at the first and thrived on the
outward side throughout the tournament.
“The whole front nine I played really good.”
Pettersson said a swing change he incorporated three weeks
ago at the Houston Open had paid off.
“In Houston I found that new swing key, just opened up my
stance and left my left hip clear through the ball,” he said.
“I’ve played great. So hopefully this feeling lasts a long
time.”
The last time the portly Pettersson tinkered with his game
and lifestyle it did not work out so well.
“In ’08 I had a good year. I won Greensboro that year. I was
trying to figure out what I was going to do to get to the next
level and fitness, and I really started working out and eating
better, and I lost 30 pounds very quickly,” he recalled.
“That was during the off-season, and it really threw my golf
game. In ’09 I played terrible, I finished 150-something on the
money list,” the 34-year-old Pettersson said.
“It took a long time, just the last six months I felt
comfortable again. Threw my timing off,” he said, adding that
his Canadian win in 2010 was more like catching “lightning in a
bottle.”
“I felt like this year my game was starting to come back to
where it was. I played really solid. It’s fun to play again, and
I kept the weight on.”
Pettersson said putting the weight back on had been easy.
“Well, you drink 10 beers and (eat) a tub of ice cream
before you go to bed,” he said, drawing laughs at his press
conference. “That puts it on quickly.”
(Reporting by Larry Fine, Editing by Patrick Johnston)
