Hanson Outduels McIlroy in Shanghai


Peter Hanson closed with a 5-under 67 to win the BMW Masters. The $7 million European Tour event took place at Lake Malaren Golf Club near Shanghai, China. Hanson earned $1,166,600 for the biggest check in his career.

The 35-year-old Swede opened with two birdies on the front nine and added four more on the back. A meaningless bogey on the par-4 closing hole gave him a four-round total of 21-under 267, one stroke ahead of Rory McIlroy, who also shot 67.

"It's fantastic to win the BMW Masters, and to go head-to-head with the world No. 1 is always nice, but to come out on top it feels great," said Hanson, who won the KLM Open last month in the Netherlands and now has six European Tour titles.

"This is by far my biggest win, so it feels great, as we had just so many guys in the top 10 in the world, so this trophy is very, very special to me."

McIlroy didn't play well initially. After pars on the first three holes, the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland carded two birdies to make the turn in even par. He then got hot on the inward half, carding three birdies and an eagle on the par-5 15th.

"I didn't get the best of starts but it started coming together over the back nine," McIlroy said. "But (Hanson) played well and deserved his win. To go out there with the lead and play the way he did and shoot 67, is very impressive, so he was always going to be tough to beat."

Hanson and McIlroy's fellow 2012 European Ryder Cup teammate, Luke Donald, shot a 66 to take third at 271, and another stroke back was another Ryder Cupper, Ian Poulter, who closed with a 65.

Shane Lowry (68) ended up in fifth at 273, and tied for sixth at 274 were Louis Oosthuizen (68), Paul Casey (68), Alexander Noren (69), Justin Rose (69) and George Coetzee (71).

For all the scores, visit http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012082/leaderboard/index.html.