Golf – Award:Rafa Echenique's stunning albatross on the final hole of the BMW International Open in Munich has been voted the 2009 European Tour Shot of the Year.
The Argentine golfer holed his second shot – a 243-yard three iron – for an outrageous two at the 568-yard par five, capping a sensational 10-under 62 which almost won him the tournament.
The shot contributed to a European Tour record-equalling inward 27, and piled the pressure on England’s Nick Dougherty, who needed to par his last three holes to capture the title, just one shot ahead of Echenique, whose incredible finish sent the crowd at Golfclub München Eichenried into raptures.
“I am very thrilled that my albatross at the BMW International Open has won,” said Echenique. “I still feel excited when I think about that day. The crowd started to roar and then my caddie said 'It's in the hole!' I couldn’t believe it.
“It was a great moment in my career. I finished in second place that week and could have won. It gave me a lot of confidence for the next few weeks. People still say to me ‘You’re the guy who had the albatross in Munich!’ It was fantastic.”
Runner-up was Lee Westwood whose masterful chip to within inches at the 17th hole of the final round of the Portugal Masters set up his first European Tour victory in more than two years and propelled the Englishman to victory in the Dubai World Championship and The Race to Dubai a few weeks later.
Third place went to Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy for his sublime bunker shot at the 72nd hole of the Dubai Desert Classic which contributed to the 20-year-old’s maiden European Tour victory.
List of monthly winners in 2009:
Rory McIlroy (January and March)
Paul Casey (February and May)
Angel Cabrera (April)
Rafa Echenique (June)
Ricardo Gonzalez (July)
Alexander Noren (August and September)
Lee Westwood (October)
Francesco Molinari (November)