Anthony Wall feared the time-honoured “dog licence” from the on-fire Alexander Noren but it was the 41-year-old who was impregnable on a windblown afternoon at Archerfield to win the Aberdeen Asset Managament Paul Lawrie Matchplay.
Few gave Wall, 16 years removed from his last tour win, much hope in the final against the No 2 seed going for a Scottish double to add to the Scottish Open he won barely five weeks ago at Castle Stuart.
But radically different conditions with winds gusting to 30 mph and beyond tamed the Swede and it was the Sunningdale man who edged it, one-up, at the final green.
The 16 years and 204 days between his win in South Africa in 2000 and yesterday’s victory is the longest gap between wins in European Tour history, but such was Wall’s control in the wind and especially his faultless short game that there was no questioning that he deserved the title.
“16 years is a career for most golfers,” he said. “I just proud to still be doing my job at 41, let alone win again.”
But he imagined only the worst when he pored down Noren’s record for the week that showed him shooting fistfuls of birdies and finishing matches before the 15th tee.
The Swede promptly birdied the first two holes of the final for a two-up lead, and it seemed Wall’s worst fears would be confirmed.
“At that stage, I’m hoping it isn’t going to be a dog licence (7&6) to be honest because he’s clearly flushing it and he’s putting well. I spoke to James Morrison (beaten in the semis by Noren) last night and he said he’ll get out of the blocks quick, he’s flying; you’ve just got to putt well and hang on with him.
“I thought, if I can just hang on through nine, then I can have a go at him. To be honest, we both just kept playing lovely, it was one of those games that we both could have won 2-up. It was that sort of nip and tuck.”
Wall hadn’t won since 2000, but he’s been a fixture on the tour, never having been really close to losing his card and winning over £8 million in prize money. But on entering his 40s, he admitted he was losing faith to whether he’d win again.
“I was starting to wonder, I really was,” he said. “But the reason why we are playing a sport like this, is you have to keep believing.
“You have your up-and-downs, but you have to always believe that you’re still dedicated enough and still disciplined enough to do it.
“I’m just pleased my family are able to see it. My mum, my dad, my brother, all my friends and my kids are old enough to understand now that their dad is a winner.
“When I first won, they weren’t even born. That means as much to me as anything; the fact that they now know their dad can do it.”
Wall shot 69 for the day in the most testing possible conditions, and his short game bailed him out any time he got into trouble. His only bogey was at the ninth – dead into the wind and unreachable – and that was still good enough for a half.
Noren won the first two holes and then didn’t win another. His putter got him out of trouble but it was his failure to birdie the long 11th that allowed Wall a one-up lead he defended tenaciously until the 18th.
There, two slight mishits from Wall opened the door as Noren’s driver-driver got him up near the green. But his pitch wasn’t top quality, and he missed the 15-footer for birdie he needed to extend the match.
Wall particularly feels an affinity with the tournament host – who in a comparable fashion was 15 years between Ryder Cup appearances.
“Paul’s an inspiration, there’s no question about it. He’s come from an absolute normal background and to do as well as he’s done, he’s inspirational.
“He knows so much because he missed with best for so many years. Everything he says, you take it, you think about it, and think, yeah fair enough, I think he’s got a point.
“And there’s the fact that he puts on this event, that he’s giving back, which I think is important. It’s also great for The European Tour now getting some of our prominent players doing the business for the rest of us.”
Lawrie’s three-year deal with the European Tour for the tournament ends next year but he sees no reason why it shouldn’t progress.
“We see this not stopping or being a short-term thing,” he said. “Obviously we have to sit down and debrief with everyone on how things have gone so we can learn on things again to hopefully progress further.
“The format stayed the same and that was the biggest thing we got from the players, they loved the format, but it’s gone up a notch or two since last year and we’ll learn again from this year.”
Lawrie had hoped for more spectators but understands the reason.
“We would like a few more, there’s no question about that, but we understand why they don’t come in their massive numbers. The Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open is a really big tournament, and The Open was in Scotland this year, and then just a few weeks later it’s our event.
“But we’re still supported very well. Archerfield couldn’t have been any better for us. We’re still learning, but I think it’s been absolutely brilliant.”
