Nov11 HSBC final round

Phil Mickelson has won the HSBC Champions tournament in China after a bizarre final round.

Lefty won in a play-off with Englishmen Ross Fisher and Lee Westwood – despite having a five-shot lead on the seventh hole.

But the world No2 had SIX penalty strokes coming in, after hitting balls OB and in the water, handing a lifeline to Fisher.

On the 18th tee it looked as if Fisher would get an early wedding present as he led Mickelson by one on the tricky par-5.

After both of them drove down the middle, Fisher was first to hit. He had no option but to go for the treacherous green in two, slightly pulling his three-wood to the right.

At least he was dry though, which was more than Mickelson after he too went for the green in two.

With Mickelson in the water, all Fisher had to do was knock his pitch shot on the green and two-putt for the biggest win of his career.

But his ball pitched on a downslope and Fisher watched helplessly as it gained speed past the flag and rolled into the water.

Neither man managed to get up and down in two, so both walked off the final green level on 10-under – a score which brouh Westwood back into the mix after his stunning final round of 67.

On the first playoff hole, again on the 18th, all three men made a par. So it was back down to the tee to play it again. This time, Westwood put his second in the water, before doing the same with his fourth shot, which ran through the green into the lake at the back.

That just left Fisher and Mickelson – both of whom went for the green in two. Fisher’s long bunker shot left him a long birdie putt, but Mickelson played a superb flop shot to three feet and sank the putt for his fist win in China.

Afterwards Mickelson said: “I just had to grind it out, never give up. Now I’m going to buy some of the lovely red wine we’ve been drinking this week, get back on the plane and head back to California for two months off.”