• Caroline Hedwall claims dramatic victory with impressive double point PowerPlay birdies at the final three holes.
  • Ladies to the fore as Alfredsson and Creamer complete an all-female 1-2-3 at the top of the leaderboard
  • Late charge from Poulter not enough despite last ditch eagle attempt

 

30th May 2011

PowerPlay Golf’s inaugural Tour-style event – officially titled PowerPlay Golf driven by Saab: IGNITION – was won by rising Swedish star Caroline Hedwall, in a gripping finish that saw her win by 3 points from fellow Swede Helen Alfredsson.

Henderson Rookie Caroline had claimed her maiden Ladies European Tour victory at the Allianz Slovak Ladies Open only 24 hours earlier and made the long journey from Tále in Slovakia to Celtic Manor. She drove for four hours from Gray Bear Golf Club to Bratislava and after flying to London, arrived in South Wales at around 2am.

Hailed as golf’s equivalent to Twenty20 Cricket, in that it delivers a high-excitement version of the sport in a short time frame, PowerPlay Golf’s two-flag ‘risk and reward’ format was played out on nine specially selected holes on The Celtic Manor Resort’s Twenty Ten course.

Paula Creamer and Victor Dubuisson set the early pace but Hedwall finished with three PowerPlay birdies for 6 points each to sprint from the pack and take victory. “That was a lot of fun. I was in the middle of the pack with three to play but knew I still had a chance with PowerPlays in reserve. I was very nervous on the first tee but playing with Ian Poulter and Helen Alfredsson was a great experience” commented Hedwall, who picked up a £100,000 first prize – 50% of which she is donating to the Swedish Golf Federation. The victory caps a memorable few days for Hedwall who secured her first Ladies European Tour victory 24 hours earlier at the Allianz Slovak Ladies Open.

Fans at Celtic Manor and at home on TV saw a stellar 12-player field alongside Hedwall, Alfredsson and Creamer  including golfing legend Gary Player, U.S. Open Champion Graeme McDowell ,Major Champions John Daly and Ian Woosnam  plus Ryder Cup stars Ian Poulter and Paul Casey and several other big names.

For more information on PowerPlay Golf and to watch the TV coverage again visit www.powerplay-golf.com.

Final scores:

Caroline Hedwall              32

Helen Alfredsson             29

Paula Creamer                  27

Ian Poulter                          27

Victor Dubuisson              26

Ian Woosnam                    25

Maximilian Kieffer           22

Paul Casey                          20

Gary Player                         18

Thongchai Jaidee             16

Graeme McDowell          15

John Daly                             15