Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee won the ISPS Handa Wales Open at Celtic Manor today, but only after Ryder Cup player Ross Fisher was penalised a shot for slow play when one off the lead.
Fisher fell foul of European Tour rules when he took too long over shots at the 11th and 14th holes and fell back to joint sixth over the closing stretch.
Jaidee, a 42-year-old former paratrooper, had his fifth victory on the circuit with a closing one-over-par 72.
On six under under par he finished one ahead of Dane Thomas Bjorn, Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Joost Luiten and South African Richard Sterne.
The round of the day was a 65 from 45-year-old Paul McGinley. The Dubliner did not drop a stroke and put himself within touching distance of a first win for seven years when he birdied the difficult 16th into the wind and rain.
Peter Lawrie one shot further back after a 67. Damien McGrane was next of the Irish on two over after a disappointing final round of 75, with Simon Thornton on four over after today’s 69.
For Jaidee it was a fifth victory on the circuit, but his first outside Asia.
The world number 199 led by one overnight, but fell one behind after running up a double-bogey seven at the ninth.
At that point he had not had a single birdie, but he started for home with three in a row and was in control once he added an 18-foot birdie for another on the 15th.
That gave Jaidee the luxury of being able to bogey the 16th and long 18th and still take the £300,000 first prize with a one-over-par 72 and six-under aggregate.
For Bjorn and Fernandez-Castano, rounds of 68 and 67 were a great boost to their hopes of making this year's Ryder Cup.
Tour chief referee John Paramor was the man who stepped in after giving Fisher, Jaidee and Luiten a warning as early as the sixth hole that they needed to speed up.
Then came Fisher's second shot to the par-five 11th. As the second of the group to play he was allowed 40 seconds plus a few more because of the bad weather, but took 57 seconds.
"It was a clear bad time," said Paramor. "Then on the 14th green he took 55 seconds over his first putt.
"I told him before he teed off at the 15th - and I don't think he was particularly happy."
