Canaries Open review

Bickerton secures first Tour win

John Bickerton finally ended his European Tour victory drought after 12 years on tour with a five-shot victory in the Canaries Open and he can thank his putter for the breakthrough.

The popular 35-year-old Midlander had previously finished second five times but had yet to convert some of the most accurate play on tour tee to green into a winner's cheque after 287 events.

This week, though, he proved uncatchable and romped home at 10 under par (274), five clear of Stuart Little and South Michael Kirk on the tricky Abama course.

The official Reuters Stats from Tenerife showed that Bickerton's work off the tee was once again generally down the straight and narrow as he hit almost two out of three fairways with his driver (64.3%) to rank 14th in that category.

Despite his 14-stone 6ft frame, Bickerton is hardly one of the longest hitters on tour - so far this season he ranks 169th in the driving distance standings with 274.3 yards on average.

In Tenerife, he mustered just 269.6 yards on average but still managed to find a commendable 72.2% of the greens in regulation - and it was on the putting surfaces that, for once, Bickerton was able to make that kind of accuracy pay in birdies.

So far this season, Bickerton has been averaging 30.4 putts a round, which is respectable enough but hardly the kind of magic that divides winners from also-rans.

This week, however, was different. The Englishman averaged just 28.2 putts per round over the four days and topped the stats in this all-important discipline.

Of the greens he hit in regulation, Bickerton followed up with 1.699 putts a time - and only joint fourth-placed Johan Axgren of Sweden could beat that.

Bickerton's win rescued him from a perilous position of 118th in the Order of Merit, moving him up 27 places with the first prize of 75,000 euros. The title also gives him a year's exemption on Tour and earns him a place in next month's HSBC Champions Tournament in Shanghai.

Information: Reuters Stats