Levet ends difficult years with play-off win

EUROPEAN TOUR:RISING ENGLISH star Oliver Fisher lost a golden opportunity to become the European Tour's fifth-youngest winner yesterday.

Three ahead with six holes to play, and still two in front on the 17th tee, the 19-year-old from Essex lost a play-off to French Ryder Cup player Thomas Levet in a dramatic climax to the Open de Andalucia in Spain.

After Levet sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the short 17th, Fisher's adrenalin-fuelled three-iron tee-shot in the swirling wind ran through the final fairway into water.

A bogey there - and that after Levet's greenside bunker shot had hit the cup - meant they were both round in 67s for 16-under-par totals of 272.

Returning to the same tee, Fisher not surprisingly took a four-iron, but pushed it into a bunker and bogeyed again to lose.

Long-time leader and defending champion Lee Westwood was third three shots back, having played his last 11 holes in a disappointing three over par.

Fisher, in his second full season as a professional and ranked 290th in the world, said: "I would have loved to win, but I am sure there will be more chances.

"On the final hole I just turned it over a little bit and it pitched 15 to 20 yards short of the water. As soon as you get it going on the wind it goes miles.

"The second time was always going to be a little hard after doing that.

"But I was pretty happy with my week. I got myself into contention and played pretty nicely.

"You learn from your mistakes - you have to learn to lose before you learn to win almost. It was disappointing, but never mind."

He had never finished higher than ninth in his 42 previous Tour events, but having stormed from five behind Westwood 10 holes into the third round to three in front so near to the end it was a big letdown.

For Levet a first win for four years came with a cheque of €166,660, and completed his comeback from a horrible time in 2006 and early 2007 when he feared a serious bout of vertigo might end his career.

He stopped playing for several months and described it graphically: "Imagine being in a car that is spinning for 45 minutes - or a hamster spinning on its wheel, except I'm not the hamster, I'm the wheel."

Being sprayed with champagne by fellow French players as he lay on the ground was a scene the 39-year-old from Paris thought he might not experience again.

Westwood, leading the Ryder Cup points race and eager to win his final tournament before the Masters, birdied four of the first six holes.

But Fisher matched that to remain only one behind, levelled with a seven-footer at the 349-yard seventh and then saw Westwood bogey the next two.

Out in 31, the former Faldo Junior Series and Junior Ryder Cup winner stretched his lead to three with a chip to six feet on the long 10th.

Bogeys at the 13th and 14th suggested he was feeling the pressure, but his response was to hit his approach to the 399-yard 15th to three feet for his seventh birdie.

He nearly eagled the 526-yard 16th after another glorious iron, but Levet matched his birdie and from then on it all went his way.

Westwood was asked if he felt sorry for his fellow Englishman.

"No," he replied. "If he wants sympathy off his playing partners he is in the wrong game."

(British unless stated, Irish in bold par 72)

272 - 16 under

Thomas Levet (Fra) 69 68 68 67 (Levet won on the first play-off hole, €166,660),

Oliver Fisher 70 68 67 67.

275 - 13 under

Lee Westwood 65 73 66 71.

276 - 12 under

Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 70 69 68 69, Alexander Noren (Swe) 69 70 68 69.

278 - 10 under

Robert Dinwiddie 72 65 75 66, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 69 69 69 71.

279 - 9 under

Markus Brier (Aut) 71 72 66 70, David Lynn 70 67 68 74.

280 - 8 under

Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 73 69 70 68, Manuel Quiros (Spa) 72 72 71 65.

281 - 7 under

Matthew Millar (Aus) 67 69 72 73, Anders Hansen (Den) 71 72 70 68, Marcel Siem (Ger) 70 69 71 71, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 69 67 70 75.

282 - 6 under

Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 68 70 76 68, Ariel Canete (Arg) 70 73 72 67, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 68 72 71 71.

283 - 5 under

Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 74 67 69 73, Joost Luiten (Ned) 74 65 72 72, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 70 68 69 76, Danny Willett 66 75 72 70, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 72 72 70 69, Peter Lawrie (Ire) 72 72 70 69 (€11,660).

284 - 4 under

Christian Cevaer (Fra) 68 71 74 71, Alastair Forsyth 70 70 70 74, Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 73 71 71 69, David Frost (Rsa) 72 70 68 74, Simon Dyson 71 68 74 71, Pablo Martin (Spa) 70 70 74 70, Bradley Dredge 70 68 71 75.

285 - 3 under

Anthony Wall 72 71 74 68, Damien McGrane 68 72 71 74 (€7,786), Stephen Gallacher 74 68 74 69, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 70 74 68 73, Paul Lawrie 78 66 73 68, Eduardo De La Riva (Spa) 71 71 71 72, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 74 69 70 72

286 - 2 under

Richard Bland 70 71 72 73, Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 73 69 72 72, Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 72 70 74 70, Rory McIlroy (N Ire) 68 73 71 74 (€6,300), Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 71 73 73 69, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 71 73 71 71, Johan Edfors (Swe) 71 71 70 74.

287 - 1 under

Lee Slattery 72 68 72 75, Garry Houston 75 69 75 68, David Griffiths 71 71 69 76.

288 - level

Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 69 72 74 73, Jan Are Larsen (Nor) 66 72 76 74, Peter Whiteford 73 69 75 71, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 69 74 72 73, John Bickerton 72 71 73 72.

289 - 1 over

Peter Hanson (Swe) 72 71 72 74, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 74 68 75 72, Sion Bebb 73 69 76 71, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 71 71 69 78, Jamie Donaldson 70 70 75 74, Phillip Archer 72 72 72 73, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 73 71 74 71.

290 - 2 over

Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 71 72 71 76, Pedro Linhart (Spa) 73 69 72 76, Gary Orr 71 72 76 71.

291 - 3 over

Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa) 74 69 74 74.

292 - 4 over

Carl Suneson (Spa) 69 70 76 77, Florian Praegant (Aut) 69 73 72 78.

294 - 6 over

Sebastien Delagrange (Fra) 74 70 80 70.

296 - 8 over

Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 74 70 69 83.

297 - 9 over

Birgir Hafthorsson (Ice) 73 71 76 77.