| Hamburg,
Germany, 1st June 1998 - England's
Lee Westwood made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole today to end Darren Clarke's
late charge and capture the Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe by a stroke.
Westwood, a
Ryder Cup player, squandered a four-stroke lead in the £1.1 million tournament.
He closed with a 6-under-par 66 to finish at 265 in winning his second title of
the year. "I
finally closed the door, so it's the biggest birdie of the week,'' Westwood said.
"It's difficult when a player like Clarke is chasing you. He can birdie every
hole.'' Clarke
of Northern Ireland birdied four of his his last five holes and drew closer when
Westwood produced his first bogey of the day on the 16th hole. Clarke
finished at 68-266 while Masters champion Mark O'Meara was third at 70-269. O'Meara,
playing his first European tournament since winning at Augusta, also chased Clarke
but fell from contention with a double bogey on the 11th hole. Westwood
won earlier this year at the Freeport McDermott Classic in New Orleans. Fighting
a steady wind, his 66 came after he shot a course-record 61 on Sunday. "It's
the first time I've ever done that,'' he said. "Hopefully it's not the last.''
Bernhard Langer
of Germany finished at 271 with Ireland's Philip Walton. Langer, yet to win this
year, was undone by a double bogey on his second hole. "You
just want to stick your head in the sand,'' he said. "I'm very happy with
my round after that.'' | 
