Laurens Lifts Oregon Open Title
11 Feb 2007
It was a case of 'sixth time lucky' for Laurens Jan Anjema when he upset second seed Peter Barker in the final of the inaugural Evergreen Oregon Open to lift his first PSA Tour title for more than two years at Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland in the US state of Oregon.
Since winning the Corona Britania Open in Mexico in June 2004, the 24-year-old Dutchman has ended as runner-up in five Tour events around the world. "LJ was clearly ecstatic to get his first win for over two years here in Portland," said tournament spokesman James Daigle.
The two left-handers came out firing on all cylinders, a sharp contrast to some of the marathon matches earlier in the week. But it was fifth seed Anjema who took the upper hand early in the game, cruising to his 11-4, 11-4, 11-2 title-winning victory in just 35 minutes.
Barker confessed to the crowd later that his match with fellow countryman Bradley Ball the night before - a 78-minute marathon - had taken a lot out of him. By comparison, Anjema caught his semi-final opponent Shahier Razik coming off a two-hour trench battle with top seed Mohd Azlan Iskandar.
The English runner-up commented that Anjema's win was a testament to his conditioning and that on this night the better man won. Anjema was equally gracious in victory, thanking the sponsors, organizers and the fans for their support throughout the week.
The victory marks Anjema's fifth career PSA Tour title triumph - and his second in the USA.
Final:
[5] Laurens Jan Anjema (NED) bt [2] Peter Barker (ENG) 11-4, 11-4, 11-2 (35m)
