Date: September 03, 2007
Author:

Ormsby unable to make up ground

Scotland&aposs Marc Warren triumphed on home soil when he beat England&aposs Simon Wakefield in a play-off for the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. Warren, last season&aposs 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 $389,855 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. Wade Ormsby was the leading Australian, six shots off the pace, after firing a final-round 71, while Brett Rumford carded a closing 69 to finish at three-under-par. 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. 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. 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&aposs 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. Lee Westwood was snapping at the heels of the leaders all day, but after a closing bogey six – he needed two attempts to get out of a greenside bunker – he had to settle for a share of ninth. Tournament chairman Colin Montgomerie finished alongside him after a 70. Defending champion Paul Casey had a shocker of a last round. Still in with an outside chance of winning on the course for a third time when he resumed on four under – he was playing with Erlandsson – Casey double-bogeyed three of the first five holes, turned in 43 and returned an 80. Final Round of the Johnnie Walker Championship (par 73) -12 Marc Warren 65 73 73 69, Simon Wakefield 68 69 73 70 -11 Martin Erlandsson 71 72 72 66, Soren Hansen 69 72 72 68 -10 Fredrik Andersson Hed 73 71 66 72, Graeme Storm 70 70 73 69 -9 Ricardo Gonzalez 70 71 75 67, Steven O&aposHara 71 73 71 68 -8 Oliver Fisher 73 72 72 67, Thomas Levet 69 68 76 71, Francesco Molinari 76 70 72 66, Colin Montgomerie 69 74 71 70, Lee Westwood 74 69 69 72 -7 James Kingston 70 73 71 71, Barry Lane 70 71 75 69, David Lynn 72 68 74 71, Alan McLean 72 71 74 68 also: -6 Wade Ormsby (Australia) 71 69 75 71 -3 Brett Rumford (Australia) 72 73 75 69 +3 Matthew Millar (Australia) 77 67 76 75 +7 Peter O&aposMalley (Australia) 73 71 81 74 +12 Terry Pilkadaris (Australia) 69 76 81 78 +14 Terry Price (Australia) 71 75 80 80