British Masters: Sporting tradition and good manners demand that Johan Edfors be congratulated for taking the €430,000 first-place cheque yesterday but the enduring fascination with human frailty means the 2006 British Masters will be remembered for the Englishman who came fifth rather than the Swede who won.

Two shots in front overnight, three shots ahead with nine holes to go, Paul Casey contrived to lose a tournament that appeared destined to be his.

"That would be putting it politely," the Englishman replied when asked if he was frustrated at finishing on 279, nine under par, two shots behind Edfors.

The source of Casey's frustration can be traced to the decision he took to attempt to drive the green at the Belfry's 311-yard 10th hole. A more cautious soul, or possibly less self-assured individual, might have chosen to defend at this point and hit an iron for safety. The outcome, a double bogey, was as predictable as it was heart-breaking to watch.

On the credit side, the Englishman's drive was superbly struck. Alas, it ended up in the water just short of the green.

The error was compounded when he drew a poor lie from the drop, bladed his chip across the green and two-putted.

Worse was to follow. A bogey at the next left him tied for the lead with four others. Three lipped-out putts over the closing holes saw him slip down the leaderboard.

It will have come as little consolation to Casey that Darren Clarke and Michael Campbell, the two players who had been expected to pose his strongest challenge over the closing 18 holes, endured similarly frustrating days.

As it happens, both had barely touched a golf club in the two weeks prior to the tournament, although they are blessed with enough natural talent to overcome such an obvious impediment to their chances of playing well. At least that was true of the first three days at the Belfry. But there is nothing like the pressure of the final day to test a player's technique and when push came to shove they were left wanting.

Clarke was first to buckle, bogeying the third and fourth holes, before slipping gradually down the leaderboard to finish with a four-over-par 76.

In the circumstances, his four-round total of 282, six under, was a tribute to his competitive spirit.

Campbell started his round much more brightly, hitting a birdie at the third to reduce his two-shot overnight deficit to one. His demise came on the ninth, where he three-putted from six feet for a double bogey.

To his credit, the New Zealander hung in all the way to the final hole, where he had a birdie putt to tie Edfors on 11-under par. Unfortunately for Campbell, his ball went left and long, leaving Edfors with his second title of the 2006 European tour season.

Clarke's protege Graeme McDowell, enjoying a welcome resurgence recently, was the highest Irish finisher after a final-round 70 left him on 281, one shot ahead of Clarke.

Padraig Harrington finished strongly also, a 68 leaving him on 283. David Higgins's 74 meant the Waterville man finished on 288.

"It is turning out to be a fantastic year for me," said Edfors afterwards.

The Swede, who was the number one player on the Challenge Tour, showed a grittiness that augurs well for his future.

That much was evident at the tour's qualifying school in December, where he regained his Tour card, and it has been evident in his willingness to completely overhaul a game that, by his own admission, was nowhere near good enough to make a decent living in the game.

"I guess I have found something," he said of his sudden rise to golfing prominence.

• Guardian Service