Play-off pays off for Walton

You cannot accuse Colin Montgomerie of lacking consistency. He has never successfully defended a title before and never won a play-off. After yesterday's final round of the Murphy's English Open, his record is intact. Instead of the big Scot taking the pounds 108,330 first prize, it was Philip Walton.

The Irishman finally slipped Montgomerie's grip on the second play-off hole with an exquisite chip to two feet for a birdie four on the 511- yard 17th. His opponent, meanwhile, fell short with his approach - about 25 feet - and a fraction away from his first win of the season.

It was difficult not to sympathise with Montgomerie, who was also beaten in a play-off by Ernie Els in last year's US Open. At the first extra hole, the 18th, his wedge shot from the light rough on the edge of the green lipped in and out of the hole, changing direction by 90 degrees in the process. Half an inch to the right and the ball would have hit the flag and he would almost certainly have won.

"I love play-offs," Montgomerie said with a heavy lacing of sarcasm. "It's my fourth and I've still to win one. I don't know why it goes wrong, just a coincidence I suppose. I know if I get there enough I'll win one. I'm playing well and I'm taking a lot of confidence with me to the US Open."

Walton is also carrying a lot of confidence in his golf bag, after two wins on the Tour in seven weeks that have boosted his earnings this season to pounds 185,000 and elevated him to seventh in the Ryder Cup rankings. His latest success is all the more remarkable because last Monday he was barely well enough to lift a club.

"I don't know what's happened," Walton, whose colourless face and wheezy cough made him look and sound like an unlikely conqueror, said. "I've got a bad eye and almost had pneumonia and I've won the English Open. If I get healthy I suppose I'll start missing cuts again."

It was a day that had extra-time looming large throughout. Walton and Montgomerie began the day bracketed together on 12 under, and with the blustery conditions baring the course's teeth there was never a real threat in the final round proper that either would be able to break away. Advantage swung from one side of the fairway to the other, but never decisively so.

The 17th, first time around, was a perfect example. First Montgomerie, the defending champion, executed a chip from 100 yards that almost went in and finished six inches from the flag, then Walton countered with a shot of his own that was rolled to a foot from the hole. Both birdied, both finished on 274, 14 under, and three shots ahead of the field.

It would be nice to report the pack spurred the leaders on, but no one chased them hard. No sooner did anyone get within sight of Walton and Montgomerie than they would disappear in the opposite direction.

Peter Senior, a shot behind overnight, clung on to their coat-tails until the seventh when he dropped a shot at the 463-yard par five and then lost them completely with a double-bogey seven at the 12th. Barry Lane, Darren Clarke and Jay Townsend also rose only to fall.

Theirs was a gentle let-down compared to Peter Baker's, however. Going out in 32 he was nine under and thinking in terms of another four birdies to set an intimidating target, but as he put it: "Thinking was just about all I did."

His momentum was arrested with a bogey at the 13th and then went backwards when he arrived at the 16th. His first approach, a shot of 110 yards, was underhit and found the water, and when he tried again the ball took a second dunking. By the time he left the green he had marked a quadruple- bogey eight on his card.

As a consequence, Britain's Roger Chapman, who has never won on the European Tour, emerged in third place with a 69 that was exceptional on a day when there were only five other scores under 70. More pertinently, he was the only man from the last eight pairings, who played when the wind was at its worst, to break that mark.

MURPHY'S ENGLISH OPEN (Forest of Arden, Warwickshire) Leading final scores (GB or IrI unless stated): 274 P Walton 65 70 69 70; C Montgomerie 69 63 72 70. 277 R Chapman 68 70 70 69. 279 W Westner (SA) 68 72 71 68; D Clarke 72 67 69 71; P Senior (Aus) 66 70 69 74. 280 T Price (Aus) 68 71 73 68; B Lane 68 69 71 72. 281 H Clark 68 73 71 69. 282 D Robertson 70 72 74 66; J Townsend (US) 72 69 69 72; D Cooper 70 66 73 73. 283 S Lyle 70 68 73 72; M Mackenzie 74 68 68 73; J Rivero (Sp) 70 66 71 76. 284 I Garrido (Sp) 74 68 72 70; E Darcy 70 69 74 71; G Evans 71 69 73 71; M Clayton (Aus) 70 71 72 71; G Turner (NZ) 74 68 71 71; P McGinley 72 68 72 72; M Gates 72 70 70 72; P Baker 69 68 74 73. 285 S Torrance 70 72 75 68; M Gronberg (Swe) 68 71 77 69; J McHenry 71 71 71 72; M Roe 70 72 71 72; M Campbell (NZ) 67 71 74 73; A Forsbrand (Swe) 68 75 69 73; J Haeggman (Swe) 71 72 69 73; C Rocca (It) 69 71 71 74; J L Guepy (Fr) 68 75 67 75; P Affleck 71 70 68 76.