Khan overturns rankings

Wales Open Final round: World rankings. Who needs them? The second successive overturning of the status quo on the European Tour within a week yesterday saw Simon Khan, an unheralded 31-year-old ranked 255th in the world, win the Wales Open at the second extra hole after he and Paul Casey, ranked 30th, had each posted totals of 267, 21 under par.

Casey, of whom England - and Europe - expects much, should certainly make his Ryder Cup debut this September. But it was he, the winner of three Tour titles already and a superstar-in-waiting, who wobbled alarmingly over the closing holes and finished his week with an ugly bogey six at the second hole of the play-off.

Khan, with the welcome luxury of two putts for his maiden victory, rolled home a slithery, downhill three-footer and raised his arms in relief and triumph. The golfer from Chingford in Essex (whose late father, Desmond, was from Dublin) won €375,000 and emulated his friend Scott Drummond, who was 435th in the world when he won the Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth last week.

It was not even meant to be a contest, as Casey, who was three shots ahead of Khan after 54 holes and four ahead after 65, was honest enough to admit. "This should have been a day when I finished it off," said the 26-year-old from Cheltenham, "It should not have been a contest, but Simon played a wonderful round of golf and, what with the 61 (a course record in the second round), he played very well."

Casey was unsettled by three-putting for a bogey at the first, and Khan gave notice of his resilience by starting with a birdie. Casey managed to recover his poise with birdies at the second and eighth, and was out in 35, one under par, to Khan's 34.

When the younger man birdied the 10th and 11th, it looked all over, but he bogeyed the 12th and, although he birdied the 13th, so did Khan, who hit a downhill putt from 25 feet. He followed that with a birdie at the 14th, where he hit a six-iron to 12 feet below the hole.

Khan, concentrating on doing himself justice and trying to win rather than just looking at the leaderboard hoping for a good finish, felt that was a turning point and, when Casey double bogeyed the 15th, three putts compounding the damage of a bad drive, the pair were level.

Khan took the lead when he hit a sandwedge to 12 inches for a birdie at the 16th, but he could not match Casey's fighting birdie at the last, making a soggy strike at his six-footer.

"I'd heard people say it is a difficult thing to hole a putt to win," Khan, who had scored 67 to Casey's 70, said, "and I found that out."

It was then into the hand-to-hand combat of the play-off. They made a bit of a mess of the 73rd hole after they both drove into the rough on the left. Khan hit a tree with his second shot and had to play his third from a bunker 170 yards from the pin. To make a five from there, to match Casey's par, as he did, required skill and nerve and he got his reward at the next time of asking.

Peter Lawrie, who entered the weekend tied for third, shot 70 on Saturday and then crashed to a 77 yesterday.