A final round 68 ensured that Mikael Lundberg won the Interco Russian Open for the second time in 3 years. The Swede held off a spirited charge from Spain’s José Manuel Lara who carded a 64. Birdies on 16 and 17 meant that once his drive avoided the water that runs down the right of the 18 at Le Meridien Moscow, he could relax into his victory.

It all looked so different for Lundberg on the par 5 15th when a hooked drive saw him end up deep in the trees that line every hole on this tight and demanding course. his second shot cannoned off yet another tree and his third was only a prod back onto the fairway. A superlative 4th shot saw the ball stop less than 10 feet from the flag and the Swede duly converted for an unlikely par.

It was Lundberg’s prowess with the putter than laid that foundations for his win. The Swede finished first in Green in Regulation, Putts per Greens in Regulation, and unsurprisingly also in Putts per Round where he averaged a frugal 27 putts. Somewhat surprisingly on a course where no less than 11 players averaged over 300 yards Driving Distance, he was a lowly 17th in that metric which goes to prove the old adage right.

With the event being immediately after The Open and only a few weeks before The US PGA, many of the top players on the European Tour decided not to attend which gave a chance for some of the lesser lights of the Tour to shine and shine they did with some excellent golf.

The Russian Open has been a happy hunting ground for Lundberg, "This is my absolute favourite place, everything is great here". When he won in 2005, this event carried only a 1 year exemption and Lundberg promptly lost his card in 2006. He returned to the European Tour after a successful 2007 on the Challenge Tour and now with a 2 year exemption following this win, Lundberg can now plan his 2009 and 2010 campaigns.