Casey wins BMW PGA Championship
Sunday, 24 May 2009 18:55Paul Casey jumped to third in the world rankings after defying a sparkling final-round charge by fellow Briton Ross Fisher to win the PGA Championship on Sunday.
Casey started the day three strokes clear of the field but local boy Fisher, from nearby Ascot, reeled off eight birdies in a best-of-the-week 64 to set the clubhouse target on 16 under in glorious sunshine at Wentworth.
However, the overnight leader responded with birdie fours at the last two holes, sinking a four-foot putt at the 18th to secure his third victory of the season with a closing 68 and a 17 under par tally.
The 31-year-old Casey, who also won in Abu Dhabi in January and Houston last month, picked up a cheque for €750,000.
'That was not an easy putt (at the last) but it went right in the middle of the hole,' he told BBC television.
'The BMW PGA Championship is our flagship event on the European Tour and I've always wanted to get my hands on this trophy. This feels fantastic.'
In third place 13 under was Dane Soren Kjeldsen, one ahead of Briton Stephen Dodd.
Former British Open champion Ben Curtis of the United States produced a remarkable birdie-birdie-eagle-eagle finish to shoot 67 for a nine-under par total.
Holder Miguel Angel Jimenez recorded only the second albatross since the tournament's inception in 1955, the Spaniard using a six-iron to hole out from 205 yards for a two at the par-five fourth on his way to a 76 and level par total.
American John Daly, sporting a bright pink outfit in a gesture of support for world number two Phil Mickelson's wife Amy who was this week diagnosed with breast cancer, ended his campaign with a 75 for eight over.
