Fisher's hell-hole leads Mickelson to play-off heaven

It would be unfair to say that Ross Fisher committed a "Van de Velde" in Shanghai yesterday – an Open Championship was not his for the taking, after all – but the manner in which the Englishman threw away a £400,000 first prize was still pretty spectacular all the same.

Essentially, all the player ranked 141st in the world had to do to deny Phil Mickelson the HSBC Champions Trophy and so establish himself as one of the favourites to claim a Ryder Cup spot was get his ball down in four shots from around 30 yards on the 18th; a challenge your average club member might fancy. Alas, the 26-year-old hurried his chip and watched in despair as it flew over the green and into the water behind.

In the event, Fisher held his nerve rather commendably to hole a seven-footer for a double-bogey to enforce the play-off. But his relief was only temporary as Mickelson's birdie on the second extra hole saw the American prevail in the so-called "Asian major", despite, in his own words, "playing horribly".

Also involved in that play-off was Lee Westwood. The Worksop professional had been finished for more than an hour and was relaxing in the clubhouse when he realised he would be required to re-lace his spikes. His obvious disbelief at that eventuality summed up an afternoon that was as bizarre as they come in big-time golf.

Consider this. After completing the outward half, Westwood was a full 12 strokes back from Mickelson, who had seemingly carved himself an unassailable lead by slipping five clear of his playing partner, Fisher. But seven dropped strokes in eight disastrous holes from the seventh handed Fisher the chance of his career so far. The former Wentworth driving range attendant arrived on the last tee with a one-shot advantage and when Mickelson found the water with his second to the par-five, and when Fisher avoided the hazard with his approach, his second triumph of the year appeared imminent. Then followed the calamity.

"I never thought after hitting the water I had a chance," said Mickelson, after collecting what, remarkably, is only his second title away from America, the last coming in a low-ranking tournament in Paris way back in 1993. "It feels amazing. I don't know how it happened. The whole day was a whirlwind, but what a fun day."

It certainly did not look much fun for Mickelson in the middle of the round as the swing he has been rebuilding with Butch Harmon suddenly lurched into meltdown.

"You know, I had a huge lead early, but I hit some horrible shots," he said, after a 76 gave him a 10-under total. "In all, I had six penalty strokes in the final round, which made it a difficult day. But I kept fighting, and it's a funny old game, golf. You never know what's going to happen."

Fisher would testify to that, although this unassuming young man from Berkshire was determined not to get too down on himself. "I can take a lot from today," he said, reflecting on his 72. "I've pushed the world No 2 all the way. I am obviously disappointed not to walk away with the trophy, but it's been a great week."

Westwood was similarly upbeat, and with good reason. In a demanding finale, when the greens at the Sheshan International Golf Club firmed up and the conditions conspired against the competitors, his 67 was the day's best. When he set out, he was nine behind Mickelson and believing he was playing purely for euros and ranking points in what was comically the first event on the "European" Tour's "2008" season. But, with six birdies in a peerless inward nine of 30, Westwood hurled himself to somewhere he never expected to be.

"Not for one moment did I imagine I would be in that play-off," said the 34-year-old, who is now firmly back inside the world's top 30. "So, no, I'm not that disappointed."

For Fisher there were words of comfort from the victor. "I told Ross not to worry as he has something far more important happening in his life next weekend," said Mickelson, referring to Fisher's impending nuptials. The runners-up cheque of £210,000 would have been another consolation.

* Paula Creamer retained a firm grip on the Tournament of Champions as she stretched her lead to six shots with a round to play in Mobile, Alabama. The 21-year-old had a round of 68 to stay comfortably ahead of her US Solheim Cup colleague, Pat Hurst, with the South Korean Jin Joo Hong in third place on nine under, and Annika Sorenstam fourth on eight under.