The accolades for Callaway’s Oliver Wilson continue with the English golfer being awarded – ‘European Tour Golfer of the Month – October 2014’.
Wilson captured golfing headlines around the world when the then 792nd ranked golfer on the World Rankings captured the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
The 34-year old receives an engraved alms dish and a Jeroboam of Moët & Chandon champagne after posting scores of 64-72-65-70 for a 17 under par total of 271 – one ahead of England’s Tommy Fleetwood, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Scotland’s Richie Ramsay.
Wilson’s success enabled him to climb from 252nd to 39th in The 2014 Race to Dubai and earn entry into The Final Series culminating with the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai from November 20-23.
Oliver Wilson and caddy John Dempster after capturing the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and now with Wilson being voted ‘Golfer of the Month for October, 2014’. (Photo – Stuart Adams/www.golftourimages.com)
Playing on a sponsor’s invitation, Wilson secured victory on the Old Course at St Andrews to complete a remarkable transformation in fortunes – he had lost his European Tour exempt status at the end of 2011 after playing in The 2008 Ryder Cup and notching a Tour record nine runner-up finishes without a win.
On the eve of the WGC-HSBC Champions, and a tournament he went close to winning in 2009 when he lost a play-off to Sergio Garcia, Wilson said: “It’s the first time I’ve managed to win this. It’s obviously been a great month for me and it’s nice to back it up with the Golfer of the Month award.
“It’s another little memento of what I’ve achieved. I thought about what could happen earlier in the year, and if you win certain tournaments, but I don’t think the HSBC came into that equation at any stage. It’s fantastic to be back at a tournament like this. I haven’t been back since 2009. It’s a great event and I love the course.”
The European Tour Golfer of the Month Panel, comprising members of the Association of Golf Writers as well as commentators from television and radio, focused their attention on winning and exceptional performances on The European Tour International Schedule whilst also considering outstanding achievements worldwide.
Frenchman Alexander Levy (Portugal Masters), Finland’s Mikko Ilonen (Volvo World Match Play Championship), Australian Scott Hend (Hong Kong Open), Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen (ISPS HANDA Perth International) and Germany’s Marcel Siem, who claimed the BMW Masters, the first of the Final Series events, following a play-off with England’s Ross Fisher and Levy, were also all winners on The 2014 European Tour International Schedule in October.
