Casey cashes in as Lawrie's late charge sinks at last

AFTER recently developing a taste for golf on the other side of the Atlantic, when he finished eighth at the BellSouth and 15th at the Masters, Paul Lawrie marked his return to serious competition on home turf yesterday by firing a closing salvo of 69 for 282 at the Benson and Hedges to share third place behind England’s Paul Casey.

While Casey, a former Scottish PGA champion, claimed his second victory of the season with a tenacious 71 to pocket the first prize of 183,330, Lawrie made a spirited dash up the leaderboard before gambling at the 18th with a 3-wood from the rough which fell short into the famous pond and cost him a double bogey, and a share of third spot with Dutchman Rolf Muntz and New Zealand’s Stephen Scahill.

Although his caddie, Colin Byrne, tried to persuade the Scot to lay up, Lawrie, sitting eight-under, looked at the scoreboards around the final hole and felt his only chance of winning was to gamble. Needing to hit 263 yards into a wind to reach the hole, Lawrie’s attempt found a watery grave. "Maybe," he rued, "it was a silly play."

The Aberdonian’s decision to stick his neck out at the last came after 18 holes of playing through the pain barrier. He’d needed treatment from a Tour physio for a sore neck to start the round and played throughout in a waterproof jacket to keep his neck warm. He did, however, earn 56,833 for his trouble.

The cheerier aspect of the Ryder Cup man’s day was a delightful 7-iron on the seventh which flew 174 yards into the cup. It was the second hole in one of the tournament, and the second of Lawrie’s pro career. By a twist of fate, the Scot was playing with Simon Khan, who aced the 12th on Saturday. Although Lawrie earned nothing but pats on the back for his effort, Khan drove home from the Belfry in a 36,000 Toyota Land Cruiser.

Casey, of course, walked away with the lion’s share of the loot as well as becoming the last name on the B&H role of honour. This was the 33rd and final staging of the tournament because of the enforcement of a government ban on sponsorship by cigarette companies.

The former Walker Cup man, who won the ANZ Championship in February and the Scottish PGA at Gleneagles in 2001, will regard this triumph on the Brabazon course as his most significant achievement to date. He has also notched a clutch of top-ten finishes this season and has been compared by Peter McEvoy, the former captain of GB&I, to a young Tony Jacklin.

Casey, a little emotional afterwards, recalled how his pro career began at the Belfry thanks to a sponsors’ invitation. "It meant a great deal to win here because this was my very first tournament and finishing 12th in 2001 started things off for me," he recalled.

Already a contender for the 2004 Ryder Cup team - Sam Torrance considered the Englishman as a wild card last time - Casey, 25, confirmed his status as one of Britain’s most assured professionals with an 11-under total of 278 to beat Padraig Harrington by four strokes.

Casey is long off the tee and his positive mentality was also an asset when he countered a double bogey at the 14th with a spirited birdie at the par-five 15th. "I couldn’t have hit the ball any further," he smiled, after finding the green in two huge blows.

The bridesmaid in more tournaments than he would care to remember - this was his 19th runner-up finish - Harrington lost his way with four bogeys over the closing ten holes and signed off with a disappointing 75 for 281.

In spite of the blustery final day, Richard S Johnson set a new course record of 64. His round featured no bogeys, an eagle and six birdies.

The Swede, who won his card to play on the US Tour this year, polished off his first European event of the season with a bit of style on the four-under mark of 284 and a finish in the top ten.

"It was an awesome feeling to shoot a round like that," said Johnson with more than a hint of the American vernacular which can be traced back to a grandfather who hails from New Jersey. "My putter was on fire all day - I hardly missed anything except a three-footer on the ninth. Otherwise I made everything I looked at."

Of the other Scots who made the cut but trailed in Lawrie’s wake, Sandy Lyle’s revival was predictably short-lived as he finished off on 81 for 298. Andrew Coltart’s 78 for 296 was also a disappointment after he had started the tournament so brightly.

As for Colin Montgomerie, who shot 76 for 290, it was one of those curious weeks when next to nothing happened to inspire good memories of his last visit to the Belfry on Ryder Cup business last September.

In terms of contending, the Troon man never quite recovered from spilling four shots over the closing four holes on Friday. It was the same story yesterday as his concentration wavered over the stretch with four consecutive fives. Perhaps the Scot was wondering if he can find his putting stroke on the dodgy greens at Gut Kaden, venue for Thursday’s Desutschebank, which have already prompted a letter of apology from the European Tour before the tournament.

David Drysdale, to his credit, eagled the 17th for 72 and the six-over total of 294 to pick up his first cheque since the Portuguese Open - a welcome boost for the Dunbar man as he is languishing outside the top 150 on the Order of Merit.

If Lawrie’s ace at the seventh was the shot of the day, Justin Rose’s eagle at the tenth also involved a single club. After carrying the ball 225 yards over water and finding the fringe of the green with his 3-wood, the young Englishman then took a leaf out of Tiger Woods’ book by using the same fairway club to bump and run the ball into the cup for two.