ORGANISERS of the Benson and Hedges International Open hailed this year's tournament at The Oxfordshire as the most successful yet.

Crowds at the Thame course were up and the weather was certainly better than last year, prompting tournament director Jim Elkins to say: "It was a great tournament. We had a few heavy showers on the Thursday, but it remained warm, which is the main thing."

Scotsman Colin Montgomerie is £133,000 richer after winning the competi- tion, finishing on 15 under par, three shots ahead of Argentinian Angel Cabrera.

Elkins added: "He was a truly great winner. After coming so close in the past, he capitalised on a slight lead to win by three clear shots."

The crowd was up ten per cent on last year with 41,835 fans paying at the gates.

But Elkins was hoping more would turn out next year. "It takes time to establish a venue," he said. "Hopefully people will go home and talk about it and the whole thing will snowball. "There is another year left on the contract and we are currently discussing our future at The Oxfordshire. But we are already planning for next year."

He hit back at reports that the PGA were looking to buy the Oxfordshire.

"The club is not up for sale," he stressed. "Like most Japanese companies, they have had a difficult 18 months and they have had to tread water.

"They appear to have done it successfully and I can't see any changes taking place."

Elkins went on to pay tribute to The Oxfordshire. "The course was in fantastic condition and all credit must go to course manager Martin Jones and his team," he said.

Story date: Thursday 20 May

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