Lee Westwood sent Tiger Woods west without Europe's Tournament Players' Championship when he overwhelmed the world number one at the Gut Kaden club yesterday with a blazing last-round 64.
Woods, invincible in the previous 13 tournaments in which he had led going into the final stage, had no answer to the Englishman's onslaught, which took him to a 15-under par total of 273.
"I came here not expecting to win but have gone from feeling I was going to miss the cut to being in total control and winning quite comfortably," said Westwood.
Woods, who came spectacularly to grief when he went into water at the 11th, shot 70 and subsided to a share of third place with Ian Woosnam and the Frenchman Jean van de Velde, one behind the runner-up Emanuele Canonica.
The Italian, a notable long hitter, had 67 for 276, demonstrating with this career-best performance that his game has improved considerably following winter tuition from Woods' coach Butch Harmon.
So only a week after being in despair at the slump in his form, professing that he did not know where his next good round was coming from, and talking of an extended break, the 27-year-old Westwood found himself celebrating his 19th career victory, worth almost Stg£270,000.
"The panic is over and it gives me a lot of satisfaction to beat the World number one," said Westwood, who won this title in Hamburg two years ago.
"Darren Clarke showed he (Woods) was not unbeatable in the World Matchplay, and so did Hal Sutton in the Players' Championship. There are an awful lot of good players on this Tour, and a general feeling that we don't want Americans coming over here and rolling us over."
It is a victory that will reverberate throughout the game, especially as Woods was an overwhelming favourite to retain the title he won in Heidelberg last May. That was the start of a run of sustained excellence that brought the American 13 wins in 25 tournaments in the last 12 months.
Until yesterday, wherever he performed Woods dominated his rivals with the power of his long game and stunned them with the quality and imagination of his work around the greens. His prize money in the period exceeded Stg7.5 million.
But here he proved vulnerable to the brand of aggressive challenge that Westwood made his trademark last summer when he closed with 63 and 65 to take the Dutch and European Opens in successive weeks.
This time Westwood birdied the first three holes to accelerate past Woods, who had led by two after his 67 on Saturday. Although the Englishman got out in 32 to be 11 under, Woods made birdies at the outward long holes and the 10th as well to stay on level terms, and looked to have weathered the storm.
The 439-yard 11th was the crucial hole of a riveting encounter. Westwood was on the 12th tee having just sunk an eight-foot birdie putt when a chorus of "oohs" signified that a pushed seven-iron approach from Woods had kicked sideways from a bank into the greenside pond.
The double-bogey removed Woods from contention and a poor shot to the short 14th, where he only just got out of thick rough with his first chip and pointed an accusing club at a photographer in the gallery, sealed his fate. Only consolation birdies at the 15th and 17th enabled Woods to gain parity with Woosnam (66) and Van de Velde (67). Colin Montgomerie and the halfway leader Miguel Angel Jimenez also closed strongly to be a stroke behind with Australia's Geoff Ogilvy.
Paul McGinley finished best of the Irish with a closing round of 69 which gave him a share of 10th place on nine-under. Clarke was two shots back on seven-under after a 72 while Padraig Harrington finished with a 70 for 282.
