Sunday, April 5, 2009

Casey clinches maiden PGA victory

FINAL LEADERBOARD:
-11 P Casey * (Eng), JB Holmes (US) -9 F Couples (US), H Stenson (Swe), N O'Hern (Aus) Selected others: -7 L Westwood (Eng) -6 E Els (RSA), B Davis (Eng) -5 R McIlroy (NI) -4 P Harrington (RoI)
* Casey wins on first play-off hole


Paul Casey
Casey held his nerve to break his US duck

England's Paul Casey claimed his maiden PGA Tour victory as he won a play-off to secure the Houston Open on Sunday.

Casey started the final round as one of six joint leaders, but his rivals fell away in the tricky, windy conditions.

He only needed to par the 18th to win but made a bogey for a 72, which meant a play-off with JB Holmes, who had come from three off the pace.

However, Holmes dumped his drive into the water on the first play-off hole and Casey made par to take the title.

Casey becomes just the sixth Englishman to win on the PGA Tour - Nick Faldo leads the way with nine titles.

He may have only needed a par on the 18th to claim his maiden professional title in the US but the hole had seen more double bogeys than pars during the final round.

Casey produced a superb drive over the water but put his second shot into a bunker and duffed his chip, leaving the ball on the lower tier of the green with the pin on the upper.

He missed the 20-foot putt but rolled in a two-footer to go into the play-off with Holmes, who had been warming up on the practice ground after finishing his round two hours before Casey.

They went back down the 18th and Holmes promptly dumped his drive straight into the water on the left of the fairway, with Casey finding the sand down the right with his drive.

Holmes finally made the lower tier with his fourth shot, with Casey on the ridge and 20 feet from the hole in three.

Holmes was short with a 50-foot putt, leaving Casey with two shots for the title.

His first putt finished two feet short and he duly rolled the ball in to claim victory.

The six-way tied for the lead after 54 holes was the first since at least 1970, when the statistic started to be recorded.

Of the six, veteran American Fred Couples fared best, but he struggled over the closing holes on his way to a 74 and a share of third with Henrik Stenson and Nick O'Hern on nine under.

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