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Charl Schwartzel cruises to Masters victory in Madrid

12/10/2008

Charl Schwartzel produced another stunning round to win the Madrid Masters by three strokes.

The South African carded a five-under-par 66 to finish on 19-under at the Club de Campo course to finish ahead of Argentine Ricardo Gonzalez.

Pablo Larrazabal (67) finished in third place on 15-under while Englishman Paul Waring carded 69 to finish on 12-under.

Englishman Robert Rock briefly threatened to topple Schwartzel after a scintillating round of seven-under par 64 to finish in joint fourth place.

But Schwartzel was too strong for his rivals and had another bogey-free round despite struggling with a shoulder injury and illness in Madrid.

Starting the day one shot ahead, he birdied the fourth and seventh holes to increase his advantage.

Schwartzel posted birdies at the 13th and 14th and repeated the trick at the 17th.

On the final hole, he recovered from a wayward drive with a shot low between the trees before chipping and putting for par to clinch his third European Tour title.

The South African was at the top of the leaderboard since the halfway stage after rounds of 69, 64 and 66.

Meanwhile, Jose Maria Olazabal could only manage a final-round of 73 to finish two over for the tournament.