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Warren denies Wakefield first win

03/09/2007

Scotland's Marc Warren secured the Johnnie Walker Championship title on the second play-off hole to wreck Simon Wakefield's hopes of clinching his first European Tour win.

It had seemed that a slow start to Warren's final round may have left him too much to do as he drifted to five shots off the leaders after three bogies in the first five holes.

But the 26-year-old gradually rebuilt his challenge as he picked up strokes at six, seven and nine and maintained his momentum round the turn with another four birdies though to the final two holes bringing him level with Englishman Wakefield.

A bogey at 17 was redeemed with another birdie at the last and when Wakefield watched his attempt to replicate Warren's last green heroics slide wide of the hole a sudden-death shoot-out was assured.

The first play-off hole offered another chance for Wakefield to bring his 181-event run without a win to a close but a similarly tricky nine-foot putt refused to drop and he was made to pay when Warren birdied the last for a second time in quick succession.

"My coach Bob Torrance told me to stop being so hard on myself and it's an incredible feeling to win here in Scotland," Warren said.

"I feel sorry for Simon. He was looking for his first win he had the lead for most of the day, but I managed to pip him at the post."

Wakefield was philosophical about the defeat which came after he allowed his opponent to muscle him off the top of the leaderboard he had occupied overnight.

"I am deflated. I held it together really well and what can I say? But at least I lost to a birdie and I didn't have a bogey all day," he said.