European Tour:Scotland's Marc Warren triumphed on home soil when he beat England's Simon Wakefield in a play-off for the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles yesterday.
Warren, last season's Rookie of the Year, grabbed his second European Tour title in exactly the same fashion as he had his first against Robert Karlsson in the Scandinavian Masters last August.
After making a closing birdie to tie, the 26-year-old took the €345,000 first prize on the second hole of sudden death, making a four-foot birdie putt after reaching the green on the par five in two.
It came somewhat out of the blue - Warren had missed six of his last eight cuts. "My coach Bob Torrance told me to stop being so hard on myself, and it's an incredible feeling to win here in Scotland," he said.
"I feel sorry for Simon. He was looking for his first win. He had the lead for most of the day, but I managed to pip him at the post."
Wakefield, still winless in 181 Tour events, missed two putts to win, first a 12-footer on the 72nd hole and then from nine feet for birdie again on the same green when the play-off started.
Wakefield said: "I am deflated. I held it together really well and what can I say? But at least I lost to a birdie and I didn't have a bogey all day."
Joint third, a stroke behind, were Swede Martin Erlandsson and Dane Soren Hansen, whose annoyance at missing a six-foot birdie chance on the last boiled over as he went to sign his scorecard.
Knowing it had probably cost him a play-off Hansen banged his fist down on a drum containing bottles of water and smashed the perspex lid. "I am never angry, but I had to let it go there," he said apologetically afterwards. "I take full responsibility.
"I played really, really well, but I'm just disappointed I didn't make that putt. I am definitely due a win."
He has two seconds and now a third this year and also led the European Open with a round to play.
Wakefield shared the overnight lead with Fredrik Andersson Hed, who followed an opening birdie with bogeys on the third and fourth and never got back on terms.
Erlandsson, out in 31 with two eagles, forced himself into contention with a 66, but Wakefield, having saved a vital par with a 14-foot putt on the fifth, then birdied the sixth and ninth to turn in 34 and led by one again when he sank an eight-footer for another at the long 12th.
Warren's birdie on the 543-yard 16th squared things up again and although he failed to get up and down from a bunker on the short 17th his closing eight-foot putt left Wakefield needing a birdie himself and he could not manage it. Just short of the green in two he left his chip 12 feet short and it slipped past.
Darren Clarke finished with a 74 for two over. Close to falling outside the world's top 150 now, his last top-10 finish was 14 months ago.
Ryder Cup qualifying starts in Switzerland this week and he, like many others, will be hoping it puts a spark back in his game. Peter Lawrie was best of the Irish on one over after a final round of 70.
