Langer upsets odds again

Bernhard Langer went from Captain Fantastic to giant-killer today – by knocking world number one Vijay Singh out of the HSBC World Match Play championship at Wentworth.

At 86th in the rankings the 47-year-old German was the second-lowest ranked player in the 16-man field, but he won a sudden death thriller to earn a quarter-final against one of his team in Detroit last month, Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Seven of the eight first round clashes could not be finished yesterday following a two and a half-hour rain delay and Langer resumed two-up with 10 holes to play.

Singh, winner of five of his last six tournaments in America and the man to end Tiger Woods’s five-year reign as number one, then found himself three down with four to play, but birdied the next three holes – the 35th after Langer missed from five feet.

The last was halved in par fives, Singh missing a 22-footer for victory, and when they returned to the 571-yard 17th, Langer two-putted it for a birdie four to grab the biggest scalp in the game.

It was his second successive win over Singh. They also met in the 1999 Andersen Consulting match play in California.

Jimenez was level with American left-hander Steve Flesch when they set off again, but ran out a three and two victor, while three more of Langer’s side - Padraig Harrington, Thomas Levet and Lee Westwood – also reached the last eight.

Harrington beat Ryder Cup opponent Chris Riley two and one, the American bogeying the first two holes on the resumption, to set up a contest with Frenchman Levet, who put out last year’s Masters champion Mike Weir thanks to a 18-foot birdie putt on the penultimate green.

Westwood overcame Open champion Todd Hamilton four and three and then had to turn his attentions to US Open champion Retief Goosen, who yesterday established a new tournament record with his 12 and 11 hammering of Jeff Maggert.

The Worksop golfer, winner in 2000, was three-up with seven to go overnight and finished Hamilton off with a 33-foot birdie putt on the 33rd.

The other quarter-final was defending champion Ernie Els against Argentina’s Angel Cabrera. Els moved a step nearer a record-breaking sixth title – but he will remember the battle Scotland’s Scott Drummond gave him. The world number two, 116 places higher in the rankings than his opponent, won by a slender two and one margin, having come from two down four times yesterday.

It was all over in 15 minutes this morning, however. Drummond, back on the course where he had his amazing victory in the Volvo PGA championship in May (he was 435th in the world at the time), clipped the trees with his opening drive down the 35th.

He was way short of the green in two, hit his approach to 35 feet and Els was able to par the hole as well and win.

Els commented: “He made it really tough for me. I didn’t play up to my potential in the opening 18 holes yesterday and knew I needed a fast start when we went out again.

“It was still not the best I can play, but hopefully I can pick it up from here.”

Drummond said: “It was fantastic experience for me obviously, but at the same time I’m disappointed. I had some chances to keep it closer – Ernie twice holed from outside me and he also chipped in to halve one hole in eagles.

“But I felt pretty comfortable and I think I can learn from handling a different type of pressure situation.”

Cabrera, one-up overnight, edged out South Korean KJ Choi by halving the last three holes in par figures, but when he took on Els he quickly fell three down after six.

Westwood struck first against Goosen, making a seven-foot birdie putt on the second, while Harrington and Levet were level after four.

A 10-foot birdie putt brought Cabrera back to only two down at the eighth, while Harrington, runner-up to Ian Woosnam in 2001, had four birdies in the first six holes to lead Levet by two.

Goosen levelled against Westwood with a two-putt birdie four on the fourth.

Before turning his attentions to Jimenez Langer said of his victory: ``It reminded me of that old Bible story when little David beat Goliath. That's how I felt.

“Obviously he’s not happy. I wouldn’t be happy if I’d lost. He was the hot favourite, but I am always tremendously motivated and 100% professional. I knew my chances would be small, but wherever I play I play to win.”

Singh stated: “To be honest I didn’t play well enough to win. Bernhard didn’t make a mistake and I just left it too late.

“I didn’t hit the best pitch at the first extra hole and that was that.”