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Langer gains first win for four years

Bernhard Langer parred the first extra hole to defeat England's Warren Bennett for the title at the Dutch Open at Noordwijkse Golf Club on Sunday. Bennett had a chance to extend the playoff but lipped out a three-foot par putt.

The victory, Langer's third at the Dutch Open, was his first since he captured four events in 1997.

"It's been a long time," said Langer, who stands second on the European Tour's all-time win list with 38 victories, 10 short of Seve Ballesteros. "It's been four years since I've won and this is one of the more memorable ones.

"My heart goes out to Warren for missing that short putt, but obviously I'm delighted and thrilled to have won another tournament."

Langer closed with a five-under 66 to tie Bennett atop the leaderboard in regulation at 15-under-par 269. Bennett, who led Langer by two strokes with three holes to play in the final round, shot his third straight 67.

A wayward drive at the par-four 14th set the stage for Langer's lone dropped shot of the day, although the 43-year-old German did manage to sink an eight- footer to restrict the damage to a bogey. He rolled in an eight-foot putt at 15 to match birdies with Bennett, who remained two ahead at 15-under.

Langer holed a 12-foot birdie at the 16th to pull to within one at 14-under. Bennett missed an opportunity to keep the margin at two shots when he failed to sink a short birdie putt at 16, then watched as Langer knotted things up at the 17th with a double-breaking 20-footer for birdie.

After Bennett two-putted from 15 feet for par at 17, both players narrowly missed birdies at the 18th and returned to the final tee for sudden death.

Langer hit to 20 feet but just missed right with his birdie attempt. Barrett ran his 18-foot bid to win three feet past the cup, then caught the left lip with his par try and his ball spun away from the hole.

Langer first won the Dutch Open in 1984 at Rosendaelsche. He triumphed again in 1992, surviving a playoff against Gordon Brand, Jr. here at Noordwijkse.

The 29-year-old Bennett, playing on a special medical exemption this year after missing much of the 2000 season with a lingering neck injury, recorded his second runner-up showing of 2001. He also finished second to Vijay Singh at the Singapore Masters in February.

"I'm pleased for Bernhard," said a gracious Bennett. "He played like the champion he has been over the last 20 years or so. I had a two-shot lead but he played fantastically and holed some great putts. I'm proud of myself, apart from the disappointment of finishing with three putts, but he was great to play with."

Langer pocketed 300,000 euro to vault from 14th to seventh in the European Ryder Cup standings, virtually assuring his spot on captain Sam Torrance's 2001 squad.

"I've been trying for many weeks and months to get in [the standings], and I know Sam's situation is not easy with so many of us playing in America," said Langer, who along with European stars Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik has spent much of the season playing on the U.S. PGA Tour. "Hopefully [Torrance] is happy that I'm in the team. I certainly look forward to it, and hopefully this will be good enough to be there."

Langer's amazing transcontinental season has included a tie for sixth at the Masters, solo third at The Players Championship and a tie for third at the British Open.

Trailing Bennett by one at the beginning of the day, Langer posted 10 straight pars to start his round and was two back after Bennett rolled in a 12-foot birdie at the 10th. Langer grabbed a share of the top spot with an eagle at the par-five 11th, but Bennett answered with an eagle of his own to retake a two-shot advantage at 14-under par.

Langer struck the pin with his approach to the 13th and easily holed the two- footer that remained to get to 13-under. However, he gave the shot back after missing the fairway at 14.

Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez also made a move in the Ryder Cup rankings, as his final-round 66 lifted him from 16th to 11th place. He finished the event in sole possession of third place at 11-under 273, one shot ahead of Denmark's Anders Hansen, Scotland's Raymond Russell and Englishman Barry Lane.

Hansen came from way back with an eight-under-par 63 Sunday to match Elliot Boult for best round of the week.

Second-round leader Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina finished alongside New Zealand's Greg Turner at nine-under, while Aussie Stephen Leaney, the Dutch Open champion last year and in 1998, rounded out the top-10 with Scot Andrew Oldcorn and Ireland's Padraig Harrington at minus-eight.

Ernie Els struggled with a third-round 75 but closed in fine fashion with a 64 to finish at seven-under 277.

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