England's Simon Khan, ranked 471st in the world and not even in the event until Monday, was in dreamland at Wentworth yesterday after he came from seven strokes back to win the second biggest title in European golf. The 37-year-old from Essex had faced an uncertain future when he had to go back to the qualifying school last November. But yesterday he produced the biggest last-day comeback in the history of the European Tour's flagship PGA Championship.
A five-under-par 66 gave Khan the first prize of over £637,000 (Dh3.3m) - plus a five-year exemption and a place in July's Open at St Andrews - with a last-green birdie. "It's been a long time since I've been in contention, let alone at a tournament like this," Englishman Khan told the media after claiming his second tour victory, almost six years after his first at the 2004 Wales Open. "This event seems to bring the best out of me and I drew on some good experiences from the past. I've been struggling with my putting all week but I managed to hole a few today."
Swede Fredrik Andersson Hed, also joint 13th after 54 holes, sank a 12-foot putt on the last, but two groups later Khan beat it with a 20-footer that curled into the hole. He was tied with Luke Donald at that point, but the Ryder Cup star double-bogeyed the long 17th and was left needing an eagle on the controversial par-five last. Not one of the game's big-hitters, he laid up short of the water and his pitch was only six inches from going in when it spun away to hand the title to Khan.
England's Chris Wood had led by two shots at the start of the day but dropped six shots in his first 16 holes. Sweden's Robert Karlsson, who shot a course record 62 on Saturday, had three bogeys and a double bogey in his first 15 holes to end his hopes. * PA
