Garrido takes PGA title after playoff drama

Spain's Ignacio Garrido birdied the first extra hole in a sudden-death playoff with South African Trevor Immelman to win Europe…

Spain's Ignacio Garrido birdied the first extra hole in a sudden-death playoff with South African Trevor Immelman to win Europe's flagship event the Volvo PGA Championship.

Immelman three-putted the 18th at Wentworth, the first playoff hole, to hand the $673,000 first prize to the Spaniard.

Both had finished on 18-under-par 270, three shots better than Swede Mathias Gronberg and four ahead of South Africa's Ernie Els. Immelman, leading overnight, had birdied the last two holes to force the playoff but in the end conceded to Garrido, who took over on top of the leaderboard at the 11th and went on to post a seven-under-par 65 to Immelman's 68.

It was a dramatic change in fortunes for Garrido, who had lost form since playing in Europe's victorious Ryder Cup team of 1997, the year he won his sole previous title, the German Open.

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Last year he finished only 65th on Europe's money-list and, until his surprise turn in form at Wentworth had missed four cuts in eight starts this year to languish 123rd on the European order of merit.

Ernie Els's fourth place took the British Open Champion back to the top of the European money-list.

Reuters