Shanghai, Nov 11 (IANS) Phil Mickelson relied on experience and steely nerves to claim the HSBC Champions title, his first win outside the US in 14 years, even as the Indian pair of Gaurav Ghei and Jyoti Randhawa once again disappointed on the final day at the tough Sheshan International Golf Club Sunday.
Ghei and Randhawa were simply unable to come to terms with the highly demanding course that saw only a handful of sub-par scores.
The Indians, who will be back in China in two weeks for the World Cup in Shenzhen, found the going tough. Even as Ghei shot a modest final round 73, Randhawa struggled for a 79.
Meanwhile, world number two Mickelson too lurched and wobbled with a fourth round 76, but then held his nerve to win the play-off against Englishmen Ross Fisher (74) and the fast-approaching Lee Westwood (67), who was brilliant on the back nine, in a three-way playoff in fading light.
The trio was tied at 10-under 278 after four rounds.
Mickelson and Fisher both threw away chances to win on the 18th in regulation and that allowed Westwood to get into play-off.
Mickelson at one stage in the day had a five-stroke lead before dropping a bunch of shots. He finally sank a four-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to win his first tournament in Asia and earn $833,300.
It was only his second professional title outside the US, the previous one having come in 1993 on the European Challenge Tour in Paris.
The man building the big charge Sunday was Westwood (67). He started the day nine shots behind Mickelson, but after an uneventful front nine at one-over, he exploded with six birdies in seven holes.
Suddenly he was 10-under and in title contention. Playing way ahead of Mickelson and Fisher, he was the clubhouse leader at 10-under after pars on 17th and 18th holes. He played the back nine in six-under 30.
Ghei had four bogeys and three birdies as he shot 38 and 35 for the two halves of the course. Randhawa opened with a double and added a bogey to be three-over in two holes. He shot another bogey on fourth, but then found three birdies in next four holes making the turn at one-over 37.
On the back nine, Randhawa had one double bogey on 10th and four other bogeys with no birdies for a 42 that saw him finish at 79, one worse than his second round 78.
Starting with a two-stroke lead over Fisher, Mickelson was two-under through seven and very much in command. Then Mickelson began to falter. He had back-to-back bogeys on eighth and ninth and then lapsed into further errors on the back nine. He bogeyed the 12th, double bogeyed the 13th and again dropped a shot on 15th.
Fisher, meanwhile was going through his own problems. He turned at even par with two birdies and two bogeys.
Fisher and Mickelson came to the 15th tied at 12-under. While Fisher birdied the 15th and Mickelson bogeyed it, there was a two-shot swing and suddenly Fisher was leading by two.
Mickelson narrowed the gap by one with a birdie on the 16th, but Fisher was still one clear.
They both parred the 17th and when they came to the par-five 18th Fisher seemed well placed with a one-shot lead. But the young Englishman succumbed to the pressure and dropped a double bogey, while Mickelson dropped a bogey.
That meant both ended at 10-under and were in a three-way tie with Westwood, the clubhouse leader.
All three found the rough with their tee shots on the first play-off hole, the 18th. Mickelson and Westwood laid up short of the lake in front of the green with their second shots, while Fisher found the far left side of the green with his second. The American’s third shot landed some 20 feet to the right of the pin and Westwood played a similar shot 20 feet short of the hole.
Fisher’s first putt was short but Mickelson and Westwood’s putts rolled two feet past the hole. Fisher still had a chance to win, but his putt to win stopped an agonising two inches short. All three players holed out for a par five.
Back on the 18th tee, all three hit the fairway. Westwood went for the green with his second shot but failed to clear the lake. Fisher’s second shot landed in the bunker short of the green. Mickelson’s second shot negotiated the water hazard and landed on the green but ran through and stopped in the rough.
Westwood, playing his fourth shot after taking a drop, saw his ball run through the green as well and land in the water on the other side of the green sinking his title hopes.
Fisher’s bunker shot went past the hole and stopped some 20 feet to the right of the pin. Mickelson then chipped to within thee feet past the pin. Fisher’s putt for a four ended up short and to the right while Mickelson holed his birdie putt to claim the title in fading light.
Asia’s richest tournament is co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours, the PGA Tour of Australasia, South Africa’s Sunshine Tour and the China Golf Association.