Gros wins in Guadeloupe after fourth extra hole

Sébastien Gros from France

France’s Sebastien Gros defeated his two opponents, Stephan Grant and Thomas Linard, after 4^th extra holes to win the Open de Saint-François – Région Guadeloupe. Gros, the overnight leader, had ups and downs during last round. Fellow Thomas Linard was the first leader at the club house. He waited for the last group to finish to know if he had to play extra time.

Ireland’s Stephan Grant had holed birdie on the 16^th so was already tie with Linard at -8 but Gros was two strokes late. On the 17^th, a par 5 where players usually earn a shot, Grant only made par. Gros did manage to holed birdie. He was still one shot behind and as the 18^th is not the kind of hole where birdie comes easily. Among the 43 players who played the last hole during this last round, only one, Jason Kelly managed to holed for birdie. The odds were quite low for Sébastien Gros to go into a play-off, but Gros doggedness was his best skills on this hole and he did make birdie to join his compatriot Linard at -8 alongside with Grant.

Thomas Linard went out the extra time after one hole. Grant managed to save par thanks to solid putting. The public had to wait until fourth extra hole to applause their winner. Gros hit a safe iron in the middle of the fairway. Grant found the fairway bunker with a hybrid shot. His approach went short of the green and his chip was not good enough. He had 3 meters to hole to save par. On his side, Gros missed his 125 meter approach but his ball stayed safe on the green collar on the right side. His chip passed the hole but he only had one meter and half to hole. His did not miss the opportunity as Grant missed his par putt. Champagne shower for the french player thanks to his friends!

« It is a huge relief because I have been playing great for a while but I did not manage to make good results reality. I had a poor start of the season so this win is first a patience award. I managed to have a good behavior on course during last 3 weeks and I am very proud of it. »

Agathe Séron
Golfmanager Press Agency