Before marching to a three-stroke victory in the International Open here at Nord-Eichenried yesterday, Thomas Bjorn insisted: "I don't feel pressure."
His statement must have sent a chill through his playing partners and nearest challengers Carl Suneson and Darren Lee, both down in the nether regions of the European money list.
As Bjorn eased to a 67 for a 20-under-par 268, Suneson finally caved in after a gutsy display with a six at the last for 71, 272 and third place. A hooked second and three putts did the damage, his final four-foot fluff costing him a numbing £40,000 sterling in prize money.
Lee, from Essex, double-bogeyed the 16th to slip to 74 and joint fifth spot with five others on 276.
Bernhard Langer, by no means shivering in his shoes at Bjorn's "no pressure" warning, charged past Suneson and Lee with a 67 to take second place. But he made no impression on the great Dane and admitted: "Every time I made a birdie or eagle, he did the same.
"I thought 67 might have been enough because the wind was blowing even stronger than Saturday and the pin positions were tough. It's the same story in this event: I play well but someone always plays better."
Faldo achieved great things in his career by ignoring the old adage "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Bjorn has gone down a similar road in working on changes to a swing that had been good enough to earn him half a dozen big tournament victories and honours in the Ryder Cup.
Although Bjorn, after going out in 33, led by only one stroke when Langer and Suneson birdied the long 11th, he never looked under serious threat, and brilliant birdie threes from 15 feet and 20 feet at 13 and 14 locked and barred the gates to his challengers.
The only hiccup came at the 16th when he flirted with the water off the tee, hit his recovery into a bush and ended with a bogey, but a two from 10 feet at the next restored the balance.
Bjorn rated his success a turning point in his career: "Finishing second in the Open and third in the US PGA was very pleasing but I never had a chance to win because of Tiger Woods.
"This time a lot of people expected me to win, and going out and shooting a number was very pleasing. I was aware of Langer's progress but I always had a cushion." The world number two Ernie Els closed with four birdies for a 66 and joint fifth place on 276. Padraig Harrington shot a final round of 73 for 280 and a share of 20th place while Gary Murphy had a disastrous 83 for 297 and last place.
