Casey shows shades of Jacklin on victory romp

Harrington fades as 25 year old dominates final round to become first English B&H International winner in a decade

The first name to be engraved on the gold trophy for the Benson & Hedges International, back in 1971, was that of Tony Jacklin. An illustrious set of champions followed and the last to be added, after the 33rd and final B&H concluded last night, will not look out of place. Paul Casey produced a victory of high class to win by four strokes from Padraig Harrington.

The Irishman brought his worryingly high tally of second places to 19. He stumbled on the greens on the back nine, coming home in 39, and the problems of others, including the defending champion Angel Cabrera, merely accentuate the way the 25-year-old controlled proceedings during a final round of 71.

Casey, the first Englishman to win the B&H since Paul Broadhurst 10 years ago, has the look of a winner about him. He twice won the English Amateur and has now won three times on the European Tour, twice this year.

Following a highly impressive career on the American college circuit, and a four-out-of-four record in the 1999 Walker Cup, Casey turned professional two years ago and soon won the Scottish PGA at Gleneagles. He was the 2001 rookie of the year and though he failed to win last season, he felt ready to make an impression this year.

Darren Clarke was among those who agreed and tipped him as a player to watch this summer. Casey could not wait that long and won the ANZ Championship in Sydney in February and felt he should have won the Spanish Open last month but got stuck up a tree during the final round.

Casey, from Weybridge but mainly based in Arizona, has all the attributes to make him a modern-day Jacklin, the man to whom his former Walker Cup captain Peter McEvoy most likens him. He hits the ball a mile and has the innate confidence of someone who believes one day he can achieve the career grand slam.

"This is a huge win against a strong field," Casey said. "My goal was to try and get in to the US Open, and maybe the Open, and that gave me motivation when my concentration dipped."

The £183,330 first prize took him to second in the order of merit and he will now hover around the top-50 mark on the world rankings, but will have to maintain one of those positions in two weeks' time to play in Chicago next month.

Harrington birdied the first to move a shot ahead of Casey. "I was expecting Harrington to be a huge threat but the battle never materialised," Casey said. The Englishman birdied the fifth and the sixth to move ahead and then Harrington admitted to complacency over a short putt for par at the ninth. "After that the ball seemed to defy gravity on the back nine," Harrington said.

Paul Lawrie entered the equation when he holed in one with a seven iron at the seventh hole. He won nothing for his efforts, though his playing partner, Simon Khan, had received a car for his ace at the 12th on Saturday. The former Open champion went in the water at the last and dropped in to a tie for third with Stephen Scahill and Rolf Muntz.

Casey birdied the 12th but a poor tee shot at the 14th led to a double-bogey five that cut his lead to two. His response was impressive. He knocked a drive and a three-wood on to the green at the 545-yard 15th in to the teeth of a howling gale. For the rest of the field the hole had been a genuine three-shotter in the conditions.

"I defy anybody to hit two better shots," Casey, who two-putted for his birdie, said.

He also birdied the par-five 17th so a dropped shot at the last did not matter. "Paul is a class act," said Harrington. "He should move on from this now."

Sweden's Richard Johnson set a new course record of 64 in the morning but scoring was by no means easy in the blustery wind.

Yet Casey stuck to his plan and attacked where possible and the gallery responded approvingly. "I enjoyed this round more than when I have been in contention before," he said. "I knew what to expect and that I had to play well. I got a great reception. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up."

* David Toms shot a six-under-par 66 to take a five-shot lead after the third round of the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, Saturday. The 2001 USPGA champion produced the lowest round of the day to finish at 11-under 205, well clear of JP Hayes (72), Kirk Triplett (67) and Robert Gamez (71) who are tied for second. Zimbabwe's Nick Price, who had led or shared the lead through the first two rounds, slipped back with a third-round 74.

FINAL SCORES FROM THE BELFRY

BENSON & HEDGES INTERNATIONAL OPEN (The Belfry) Leading final scores (GB or Irl unless stated): 277 P Casey 71 69 66 71. 281 P Harrington 67 68 71 75. 282 Paul Lawrie 71 72 70 69; R Muntz (Neth) 70 71 69 72; S Scahill (NZ) 71 70 65 76. 284 R Johnson (Swe) 73 68 79 64. 285 D Park 72 70 74 69; B Davis 70 74 69 72; A Cabrera (Arg) 68 69 70 78. 286 M Blackey 71 76 69 70; N O'Hern (Aus) 73 74 68 71; S Khan 72 70 71 73; D Dixon 66 78 68 74. 287 K Eriksson (Swe) 75 72 73 67; B Dredge 73 69 72 73; J M Lara (Sp) 72 68 73 74. 288 A Atwal (Ind) 71 73 76 68; S Hansen (Den) 77 70 70 71; J Spence 72 71 72 73; J Van de Velde (Fr) 75 70 70 73; R Gonzalez (Arg) 70 72 70 76. 289 J Elson 71 69 78 71; R Rock 71 73 72 73; P McGinley 73 72 71 73; G Emerson 75 70 70 74; N Fasth (Swe) 75 73 66 75. 290 L Westwood 72 73 73 72; Peter Lawrie 74 71 72 73; D Greenwood 79 66 70 75; C Montgomerie 72 70 72 76. 291 J Bickerton 74 71 72 74; M Brier (Aut) 74 72 71 74; R Bland 76 71 70 74; H Stenson (Swe) 68 76 72 75; J Clement (Swit) 71 70 74 76; R Chapman 71 71 73 76. 292 J E Morgan 73 75 72 72; S Leaney (Aus) 69 72 77 74; G Brand Jr 69 74 75 74; D Gilford 69 75 74 74; R Jacquelin (Fr) 73 72 72 75; J-F Remesy (Fr) 71 70 74 77; M Ilonen (Fin) 75 67 73 77. 293 J Rose 72 75 75 71; H Bjornstad (Nor) 71 77 73 72; S Dodd 74 73 73 73; N Dougherty 73 75 72 73; R Sterne (SA) 70 75 73 75; G Murphy 74 73 70 76; B Langer (Ger) 71 71 74 77. 294 D Drysdale 75 72 75 72; S Luna (Sp) 73 75 74 72; D Lynn 74 74 72 74; M Maritz (SA) 71 74 74 75; T Price (Aus) 73 71 74 76; E Romero (Arg) 73 71 74 76; T Dier (Ger) 69 76 73 76; S Webster 71 74 73 76; M Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 72 76 67 79. 295 E Canonica (It) 69 72 75 79. 296 M Tunnicliff 70 75 78 73; P Fowler (Aus) 72 72 77 75; R Goosen (SA) 74 73 74 75; M Siem (Ger) 70 78 73 75; M Mackenzie 72 74 74 76; A Coltart 70 73 75 78; P Price 73 72 72 79. Selected: 297 D Carter 72 73 79 73; I Garbutt 70 77 77 73; M Roe 72 72 76 77. 298 S Lyle 75 67 75 81. 300 P Mitchell 72 74 74 80. 301 A Forsyth 73 75 81 72.