GOLF:PAUL CASEY came through what he called "one of the toughest battles I've ever had" yesterday to end 20 months without a victory.

The man left out of Europe’s Ryder Cup side by Colin Montgomerie last year sank a closing six-foot par putt to take the inaugural Volvo Golf Champions on the Montgomerie-designed Royal Course in Bahrain.

After an amazing 23 changes at the top of the leaderboard on the final day Casey came to the 429-yard last level with Swede Peter Hanson.

Montgomerie had tipped Hanson – “probably Europe’s most improved player” – to lift the trophy, but he went from rough to sand, then missed from 10 feet and with a bogey five dropped into a tie for second with Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Casey, at ninth in the world the highest-ranked player in the field, said: “It feels fantastic – the most important thing to me is winning and that was huge.

“The goal is obviously the majors, but how are you going to win major championships if you can’t win regular events?”

He grabbed the €283,330 first prize with a four-under-par 68 and 20-under total of 268.

Third on the world rankings before he tore a rib muscle practising for the 2009 Open, Casey moves back into the top six and will be fifth if Phil Mickelson finished worse than second in San Diego.

“I’m going in the right direction,” he added.

Course-record rounds of 63 from Dane Soren Kjeldsen and England’s Richard Finch flattered to deceive in the desert because by the time the leaders came to the back nine a strong wind had picked up.

“We thought it was going to be benign, but we faced a course that was treacherous,” said Casey.

Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke, Hanson’s compatriot Johan Edfors and South African James Kingston all slipped up after holding at least a share of the lead, Clarke having bogey sixes on both the ninth and 13th and finishing with a double bogey.

Casey got his nose in front with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 15th, but had his only bogey of the last two rounds on the next.

Jimenez’s chances were alive again when he birdied the last and Hanson bogeyed it, but Casey kept his nerve and got up and down from the rough by the green to squeeze home.

“I was lucky to have a putt to win. Peter was phenomenal and didn’t make any mistakes really until the last.”

Not quite true.

Hanson was also left to rue a missed three-footer on the long 14th.

Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher took fourth place and Swede Robert Karlsson, the defending champion in Qatar this coming week, came fifth.

Clarke was only joint eighth in the end, Ian Poulter 24th, Sergio Garcia 30th, Pádraig Harrington 58th and Montgomerie 59th.

Casey said he now wants to win again before competing in the season’s first major, the US Masters at Augusta which starts on April 7th.

“My goal now is major championships, starting with Augusta, and it would be nice to crack on and get another win before the Masters,” he said.

“That would really set me up and then maybe I can accomplish those goals I’ve set. Augusta is a great opportunity for me with the way the golf course sets up.”

Hanson said his bunker shot at the 18th was extremely difficult. “From the lie I had there was not much I could do apart from just hack it out on to the green,” he said.

“Paul made a great up-and-down there so all the best to him.”

Royal Golf Club, Kingdom of Bahrain,

European Tour Volvo Golf Champions

268 – Paul Casey 67 67 66 68.

269 – Peter Hanson (Swe) 66 67 67 69, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 68 65 69 67.

270 – Stephen Gallacher 70 64 69 67.

271 – Robert Karlsson (Swe) 69 67 69 66.

272 – Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 69 68 70 65, Johan Edfors (Swe) 64 71 68 69.

274 – Richie Ramsay 72 68 67 67, Alexander Noren (Swe) 67 70 67 70, Darren Clarke 69 65 67 73, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 68 65 71 70, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 67 69 71 67.

275 – Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 70 69 68 68, James Kingston (Rsa) 67 67 67 74, Anders Hansen (Den) 68 68 69 70, Matteo Manassero (Ita) 67 70 66 72, David Horsey 69 70 65 71, Richard Green (Aus) 67 70 72 66, Todd Hamilton (USA) 70 71 64 70.

276 – Francesco Molinari (Ita) 66 69 69 72, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 71 65 70 70, Richard Finch 71 71 71 63, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 70 67 68 71.

277 – Martin Wiegele (Aut) 71 70 72 64, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 70 71 73 63, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 68 71 68 70, Ian Poulter 72 69 68 68, Tano Goya (Arg) 75 67 68 67, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 66 71 70 70.

278 – Christian Nilsson (Swe) 68 70 70 70, Gary Orr 71 70 69 68, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 67 69 73 69, Paul Lawrie 68 73 72 65, Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spa) 69 68 70 71, Richard Sterne (Rsa) 73 67 67 71, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 72 67 69 70.

279 – Andrew Dodt (Aus) 69 69 71 70, Mark Foster 69 70 67 73, Graeme Storm 66 70 73 70, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 69 70 73 67.

280 – Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 70 69 70 71, Oliver Wilson 71 71 66 72, Bradley Dredge 70 67 69 74.

281 – Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 70 71 68 72, Brett Rumford (Aus) 68 69 72 72, Anthony Wall 69 70 71 71, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 75 67 69 70, Soren Hansen (Den) 71 68 73 69, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 68 69 73 71, Kenneth Ferrie 71 69 71 70, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 68 65 75 73.

282 – Danny Lee (Nzl) 70 72 68 72, David Dixon 71 66 72 73, Phillip Price 73 69 71 69, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 72 68 71 71, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 70 69 71 72, Paul Broadhurst 69 68 75 70.

283 – Pádraig Harrington 70 69 73 71.

284 – Steve Webster 68 68 70 78, Colin Montgomerie 72 69 72 71, Peter Lawrie 68 74 71 71.

285 – Scott Strange (Aus) 68 71 76 70.

286 – Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 67 73 75 71, Michael Hoey 72 69 68 77.

287 – Mark Brown (Nzl) 71 69 76 71.

290 – Christian Cevaer (Fra) 71 71 75 73. 291 – Markus Brier (Aut) 71 71 78 71.