Luke Donald finally got the monkey off his back and put the title of the best player in the world there instead as he defeated his rival Lee Westwood in a play-off to claim the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Eight times in the top 10 in nine events played this year but with only one win in the WGC Matchplay, and often accused of settling too easily for second place the ultra consistent Donald prevailed this time with a birdie at the first play-off hole after the pair had tied on six-under aggregates of 278 on an exciting, if exhausting, afternoon yesterday.
Donald’s six-foot birdie putt at the 18th finally nailed victory, but it was assured anyway as Westwood had found the water with his third shot and was in the hole for a triple-bogey seven leaving the son of a Scot to finish off, claim the world number one ranking from his rival and his first strokeplay title since the Madrid Masters last year.
“It’s pretty good, isn’t it?” he said with his customary understatement. “Being world number one is an accomplishment I’m very proud of and a big responsibility for me to take on.
“I worked hard today and tried to stay calm even though we had some struggles out there. Lee was really unlucky at the end, but he’s a great champion and no doubt he’ll come straight back.
“I’m glad to have won and to take the ranking but it’s not as if the work’s all done. I’ve got to keep going and I want more of these trophies and these accomplishments, and there’s plenty of time in my career to get more.”
For all the moaning about the severity of the Ernie Els alterations to the course vigorously defended by the man himself again yesterday Wentworth owner Richard Caring, the sponsors and the tour blazers got exactly what they wanted, a battle between the two top players in the world down the stretch for this prized title.
In addition, for all that Westwood and Donald spoke of only trying to win the championship rather than duel for the top world ranking, the battle between them for the title became a real scrap for the ranking, albeit they were in separate groups until the play-off.
The final few holes were a struggle for both with too many false shots than the occasion deserved, and the play-off was something of an anti-climax in the end.
Donald had started the day in apparently disastrous fashion with a hook into the trees on the first and then dalliance with the base of a tree on the short second, both costing bogeys, and leaving Matteo Manassero two shots clear on his own in the lead.
The 18-year-old’s pursuit of every “youngest-to” record in the books had been built on his solid foundation and avoidance of mistakes, but they all came at once to derail him on the third, where he leaked his approach into a bunker, only just made it out to the bank, was short with his chip and then also with his first putt for a double bogey-his first major stumble of the week.More bogeysFurther bogeys at the 13th and 16th left the young Italian out of the race for the win, but if he does not win this title and many more in the future then something is wrong.
Westwood’s expected charge was slow in coming, but after he bogeyed the third, he came back with three birdies in the next five holes and suddenly he was one ahead.
Donald, settling down with a birdie at the long fourth, stayed with his countryman and pulled level with a birdie at the short 10th.
Westwood’s response was a 20-foot birdie putt at the 12th, which despite being reduced to a par four played like the five it always has been all week.
When he hit a superb recovery from in among the crowd at the 15th to four feet and holed the putt, he was two ahead.
But we were not done yet. Westwood stumbled unexpectedly, clumsily three-putting the 16th, and Donald, following behind, showing resilience in rifling a short iron in stiff to tie them up again with two to play.
But having blown his chance to win last year on the 17th last year, Donald seemed to be star-struck again there.
Westwood had nervously parred from the huge slope on the left of the green, but from a near perfect position on the fairway Donald clipped a tree branch and found himself among the foliage with 170 yards to get to the green.
However, after a fortuitous drop due to a sprinkler head, he hit in to 15 feet only to see his birdie putt horseshoe out of the hole.
Up ahead, Westwood’s tee shot was dangerously close to a bunker, but after he laid up he wedged to within six feet only to miss the birdie chance, meaning that Donald needed a birdie down the last to win.
Excruciatingly, he found a bunker off the tee with an iron, his third shot after laying up was 30 feet away, and a mere par meant a play-off.
Playing second, Westwood again tweaked a five-wood to the right, but laid in up in good shape as Donald played the hole in regulation fashion, spin-screwing his approach back towards the hole from the back of the green.
But when Westwood tried the same, he got a little too much spin and the ball shot across the corner of the green and into the new water hazard, leaving Donald to take the title and the ranking with the formality of finishing off.
Former Dunhill Links champion Simon Dyson finished in third on his own two shots out of the play-off on four-under after a two-under 69, with the trio of Australian Marcus Fraser, Raphael Jacquelin of France and Irishman Shane Lowry all in fourth on two-under.