BMW Masters: Spanish fiesta in Shanghai.

Shanghai. The winner of the 2013 BMW Masters is Spain’s Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño. The man from Madrid carded a final round of 68 (-4) to triumph at the inaugural event on the European Tour’s new “Final Series”. The 33-year-old ended the prestigious tournament with a score of -11 (277 shots) – one ahead of his closest rivals Francesco Molinari (ITA, -10) and Thongchai Jaidee (THA, -10) who finished tied in the runner-up spot. Fernández-Castaño, who leaves Shanghai with the BMW Masters trophy and a cheque for 1,166,000 US dollars, started the final day one shot behind American Luke Guthrie (-9). The rising star from Illinois had led the world-class field at the BMW Masters right from his opening round of 65 (-7), but could do no better than a 71 on Sunday as he missed out on his maiden win on the European Tour, eventually finishing a creditable fourth.

“Congratulations to Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño on winning the 2013 BMW Masters. He delivered an outstanding performance and we are very proud to have him as our champion,” said Ian Robertson, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Sales and Marketing, who presented the winner’s trophy to Fernández-Castaño at the end of an exciting final day’s play. “Thank you also to all the other participants, who have provided the fans and spectators with some thrilling days of golf. And, of course, thank you to the crowds. The BMW Masters underlines BMW’s strong commitment to the world of golf, as well as to China itself, which is BMW’s largest market. This tournament is part of BMW´s commitment to supporting the growth of golf in China. We look forward to seeing everyone again at the BMW Masters in 2014.”

Behind Fernández-Castaño, a whole host of players were producing eye-catching rounds in perfect conditions – none more so than last year’s winner Peter Hanson (-7). The Swede fired eleven birdies en route to a sensational round of 63 (-9) – his lowest ever on the European Tour – and climbed to eighth place. Hanson was left to rue his poor opening round, however, and could do nothing to stop his title going to “Gonzo”. His Spanish successor showed nerves of steel on Sunday, carding six birdies and just one double-bogey on the 18th. By the time he reached the final green, however, Fernández-Castaño had already opened up a three-shot lead and calmly sank a one-metre putt for the biggest win of his career so far.

The victory was Fernández-Castaño’s seventh on the European Tour and his third at a BMW tournament. His triumph at the 2006 BMW Asian Open also came in Shanghai, while the Spaniard’s most recent win was at the 2012 BMW Italian Open. He now joins compatriot Miguel Angel Jiménez as one of just two players to have tasted success at three BMW events. Victory also sees Fernández-Castaño climb to fourth place in the “Race to Dubai”, which is still led by Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (+2, T34).

“This win is incredible. Thank you very much to BMW. They have been one of the biggest supporters of the European Tour for 25 years – and they just know how to organise tournaments,” said Fernández-Castaño. “The atmosphere is great. As players, we don’t need to worry about anything. I really enjoyed the BMW Masters – and not just because I am holding the trophy in my hands now. This course is one of the best I have ever played. I won the BMW Asian Open in Shanghai in 2006. It is fantastic how golf has developed in China since then. I am certain that our sport has a big future here. Today was not an easy round. I got off to a poor start, but played great after that. It is not often you get to stand on the 18th tee with a three-shot lead. Then I made it interesting again with a double-bogey. That was not part of the plan, but it all turned out well in the end.”

Best-placed German was Martin Kaymer (-5), who climbed into a share of 13th place courtesy of a final round of five under par. BMW Golfsport Ambassador Maximilian Kieffer (level par) carded four bogies on the final day on his way to 30th place. The 23-year-old made a good impression on the big stage at the BMW Masters, playing alongside Major winners Rory McIlroy (NIR, -1), Graeme McDowell (NIR, +6) and Padraig Harrington (IRL, -1). Marcel Siem (+2) saved his best round of the week – a five-under 67 – for Sunday. That took Siem into a group of eight players tied in 34th place. Austria’s BMW Golfsport Ambassador Bernd Wiesberger (-3) finished 17th to claim a fine top-20 result.

BMW Golfsport Ambassador Kieffer took many positives out of his four rounds at Lake Malaren Golf Club. “There were even more people following my round today than on the first three days,” said the 23-year-old German. “That was obviously partly down to the fact that I was playing alongside Rory McIlroy and Padraig Harrington. It is special to be out there with such good players. And it was really good fun. You can learn a lot for the future from rounds like that. That is why this has been such a good week for me on the whole.”

The BMW Masters also offered 14 Chinese players valuable experience at a major European Tour event. After 72 holes, the best-placed home-grown talent was Li Hao-Tong (+3) in 42nd.