Germany’s Marcel Siem battled blustery conditions and a touch of nerves over the closing holes yesterday to secure the BMW Masters with a dramatic chip-in at the first playoff hole.
France’s Alexander Levy started the day five shots clear of Siem, but was unable to cope with winds gusting to near gale force and slumped to a six-over par round of 78.
He finished tied for the lead on 16-under with Siem, who shot 73 on the par-72 Lake Malaren course, and England’s Ross Fisher.
The round of the day belonged to Fisher, who shot a five-under 67 to claw back 11 shots on Levy and get into the playoff. No one else in the 78-man field managed better than 69 yesterday as the wind bared its teeth after three days of low scoring in windless, soft conditions.
The trio trouped back to the 18th to go head-to-head into the fierce wind.
Both Fisher and Levy found the putting surface but Siem came up short in the thick greenside rough at the 471-yard closing par four.
However, the German found the cup with his sand wedge to a huge roar from the galleries.
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