Germany’s Martin Kaymer came back from a faltering finish to win the BMW International Open on Sunday by defeating Denmark’s Anders Hansen in a sudden-death playoff.
Kaymer led the field by six strokes going into the final round but needed to birdie the 72nd hole to match Hansen’s 15-under-par 273.
Another birdie at the first extra hole though earned Kaymer the 333,330 Euro ($517,600) first prize and his second title of the victory.
Kaymer, who won the Abu Dhabi Championship earlier in the season, missed practice to be with his seriously ill mother and she was the first thought on his mind after his victory.
“I just kept fighting, not only for me but for my mother,” Kaymer told reporters.
“Six shots is a lot to be leading but in the end it didn’t feel like it.”
Dane Hansen, who had been advised not to play after undergoing a cartilage operation on his right knee a month ago, had put the German youngster under pressure by carding a five-under 67.
However, Kaymer somehow found reserves to respond after slumping to a closing 75.
Kaymer had been in complete control after moving five ahead of the field with a second-round 63 and then extending that advantage on Saturday.
However, his nerves showed over the front nine which he could only cover in two-over and his overnight advantage was wiped out with a triple-bogey on the long 11th, when he twice found the lake.
Hansen, twice a winner of Europe’s flagship PGA Championship title, produced three birdies in four holes from the eighth to close in and then overtake Kaymer, who needed to eagle the last to win outright but saw his attempt from 40ft slide just past the cup.
At the first playoff hole, Kaymer rediscovered his form, splitting the fairway on the 18th and approaching to 10ft to two-putt for his birdie, while Hansen twice found sand to bogey.
The win took Kaymer back into the world’s top 30, seventh on Europe’s money-list and sixth on the Ryder Cup table.
Hansen was happy to have come through his injury problems to finish runner-up.
“I was three weeks without touching a golf ball,” he said. “The doctors said I’d needed somewhere between four to six weeks off but the guy who did the operation told me I should play.”
The English trio John Bickerton (67), Mark Foster (68) and Paul Casey (70) tied for third, two strokes short of the playoff.
BMW International Open Scores
273 Martin Kaymer (Ger) 68 63 67 75 (Kaymer won play-off at first extra hole), Anders Hansen (Den) 69 70 67 67
275 Paul Casey 70 68 67 70, Mark Foster 67 72 68 68, John Bickerton 70 70 68 67
277 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 74 69 69 65, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 69 69 66 73, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 70 70 71 66, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 70 66 70 71, Thomas Levet (Fra) 69 69 67 72, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 69 68 72 68
278 Ross Fisher 70 68 67 73
279 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 69 69 69 72, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 68 73 68 70, Andrew McLardy (Rsa) 68 75 73 63
280 Iain Pyman 69 74 64 73, Alexander Noren (Swe) 68 73 72 67, Tino Schuster (Ger) 69 68 69 74, Colin Montgomerie 70 71 68 71, David Lynn 67 73 66 74, Graeme Storm 68 69 70 73, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 66 71 74 69, Alex Cejka (Ger) 74 67 71 68
281 Joel Sjoholm (Swe) 71 71 65 74, Benn Barham 68 68 69 76, Gary Murphy 71 70 68 72, Alastair Forsyth 74 68 71 68, David Frost (Rsa) 74 69 68 70, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 66 75 68 72
282 Peter Hanson (Swe) 72 70 69 71, Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 72 68 74 68, Stephan jr. Gross (Ger) 71 68 71 72, Ariel Canete (Arg) 73 65 70 74, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 69 72 71 70, Simon Khan 75 65 71 71
283 Oliver Fisher 71 70 71 71
284 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 67 74 69 74, Bernhard Langer (Ger) 70 72 71 71, Barry Lane 70 70 72 72
285 Shiv Kapur (Ind) 71 72 71 71, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 66 73 71 75, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 70 72 70 73
286 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 67 72 75 72, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 71 72 72 71, David Howell 69 69 71 77, Peter Lawrie 73 68 71 74, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 71 69 75 71
287 Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 70 70 74 73, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 71 67 76 73, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 70 68 73 76, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 70 68 75 74
288 Markus Brier (Aut) 71 70 74 73, Peter Fowler (Aus) 71 70 74 73
290 Carl Suneson (Spa) 69 73 75 73
291 Richard Finch 69 68 73 81, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 71 69 79 72, Florian Praegant (Aut) 74 67 79 71, Bradley Dredge 73 65 72 81
292 Niclas Fasth (Swe) 70 72 81 69, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 73 70 75 74
294 Pedro Linhart (Spa) 70 73 73 78, Anton Haig (Rsa) 66 73 79 76, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 69 69 74 82
296 Mark Brown (USA) 72 71 80 73
298 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 73 68 77 80
299 Tom Whitehouse 72 71 79 77
