Munich,
Germany, 30th August 1998 -
Burly Briton Russell Claydon shed his 'Mr Runner-Up' label at last on Sunday when
he defied home favourite Bernhard Langer to take the BMW International Open title.
 The
32-year-old Englishman with five European Tour second places and seven altogether
in a nine-year career became the Tour's eighth first-time winner this season when
he beat fellow Briton Jamie Spence by a stroke at the Nord-Eichenried course.
Claydon, runner-up
to Greg Norman in the 1989 Australian Masters as an amateur before turning pro,
went past playing partner Langer with a succession of stunning putts on the home
stretch to silence the German gallery. His
four-under-par 68 for an 18-under-par 270 total was one better than Spence, who
carded 66. Langer's young compatriot Thomas Goegele also edged in front of his
role model with a 69 for 272 and third place. Langer,
bidding for his first BMW win to go with his other 10 German titles, had to settle
for a share of fourth place a further stroke back with Argentina's Angel Cabrera
after dropping two shots over the last five holes for a 71. Claydon,
weighing in at around 115 kgs, relied on a hot putter to take him back into contention
after he had slipped from joint first place with Langer overnight to only fifth
by the turn. Birdies
on the 11th, 12th, 15th and 17th as he took eight single putts in his last 11
holes, five successively from the eighth, led to his maiden title. "It's
never really bothered me about finishing second every time because I've always
tried my hardest," said Claydon, out for six weeks at the start of the season
after injuring a knee when falling downstairs at home. "Sometimes
trying your hardest is not enough but it's not a problem which has got to me.
"The key
to winning was at the 10th. I thought I'd lost my ball but then found it and then
also saved par from 12 feet. It gave me such a lift. "My
putting obviously did it for me and that used to be the weakest part of my game,
but it also helped because the pressure was on Bernhard to win in front of his
supporters. That took the pressure off me." Darren
Clarke's bid to go past Englishman Lee Westwood for European number one spot ended
with a poor putting display for a 72 and 277 for 13th place, but the Northern
Irishman's £13,000 ($21,500) prize has taken him to within £43,000 ($71,110)
of top place. The
number one for the last five years in Europe, Colin Montgomerie, stayed on after
missing the halfway cut on Friday to act as marker for the final round and the
Scot gave himself a confidence-booster before going on to the European Masters
in Switzerland by shooting a 66. Former
European number one Ian Woosnam, like Montgomerie missing the cut, was informed
on Sunday he would be officially disqualifed for signing for an incorrect score
after taking an erroneous free-drop at the 17th in the second round. | 
