Poulter wins Italian title for second time

Ian Poulter secured his second Italian Open title in three years amid high drama at Oligata on Sunday when his only rival, fellow Briton Paul Lawrie, went out of bounds at the last.

The Englishman's birdie on the 18th caused a three-shot swing as his closing three-under-par 69, for 19-under-par total of 197, earned him the $180,000 first prize by two strokes from Lawrie.

"It was neck and neck all the way," said Poulter after hitting a title-winning second shot to just four feet on the 18th.

"Unfortunately for Paul he hit way right on the last. Neither of us knew it was out of bounds but it did mean a little less pressure on my shoulders and I knew I had to hit a good drive and get myself in birdie position."

Scot Lawrie had edged a stroke in front of Poulter for the first time on the long 17th after the rain-hit tournament had been reduced to three rounds because of thunderstorms on Friday.

But the 1999 British Open Champion then carved his tee shot on the 18th out of bounds on the right, before carding a double-bogey for a 70.

England's Anthony Wall carded a final-round 65 for a share of third place with Denmark's Anders Hansen and Emanuele Canonica of Italy.

On a day of multiple issues, Padraig Harrington came blazing through the field in a bid to overhaul the absent Retief Goosen at the top of the European rankings with just one tournament to go.

But despite a brave 63 from the Irishman it was not quite enough to overtake his South African rival.

Harrington's share of sixth place left him $22,000 short of Goosen and second on the order of merit ahead of the lucrative season-ending Volvo Masters in Valderrama, Spain next week.

Poulter, who had stormed into the lead with an opening 61 that smashed the course record on Thursday, held on to his lead until the penultimate hole on Sunday.

Lawrie, seeking a second win of the year, birdied the first to join Poulter on top of the leaderboard, but as the afternoon unfolded it took until the long 15th before the Scot regained a share of the lead.

When Poulter ran up a bogey on the long 17th after hooking his second shot into trees, Lawrie led for the first time on his own.

However, Lawrie's waywardness off the tee on the last cost him the tournament.

"This is absolutely fantastic because I hadn't won this year and I've made it my goal to win every year on tour," said Poulter, the European rookie of the year in 2000.

"I've done that throughout my pro career and this keeps me going forward and bettering myself all the time.

A crestfallen Lawrie said: "I thought I hit a pretty good swing on the last and it came off at an unbelievable angle right.

"I would have bet my house on making four up the last."

Harrington, meanwhile, was pleased to have reduced the earnings deficit on Goosen but wished the event had gone to 72 holes.

"It has closed the gap but I'm probably going to have to beat Retief by more than one place next week now.

"Losing Friday's play could prove costly."

Four Englishmen had to get the calculators out to discover whether they would have cards for next year. The top 116 receive fully exempt 2003 playing rights.

Despite a courageous final round 63, Philip Golding agonisingly missed his card by just $3,500 dollars and will now have to decide whether to make his 16th visit to the Tour's qualifying school later this month.

Golding's heartache was in contrast to the joy felt by Paul Eales and Gary Emerson. By making the cut in the dark on Saturday night, and shooting a closing 68 for a 209 total, Emerson did enough to secure the final card in 116th place.

Eales, meanwhile, posted four birdies over the last five holes and could even afford a bogey at the last for a 66 which left him on 207 and 115th in the rankings.

There is an outside chance that three players can still affect the rankings next week.

Costantino Rocca, Tony Johnstone and Severiano Ballesteros are all well down in the rankings but could move significantly with such a large prize fund on offer.

The Volvo Masters tees off at Valderrama on Thursday.

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