Casey topples Monty in World Match Play

England’s Paul Casey is just one win away from the £1m (€1.48m) jackpot after knocking Colin Montgomerie out of the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth today.

With the scalps of major winners Retief Goosen and Mike Weir already tucked away the 29-year-old continued his brilliant debut in the event with a six-and-five victory over his Ryder Cup team-mate – and possible partner – in the semi-finals.

It matched the heaviest defeat Montgomerie has suffered in 29 games going all the way back to his debut in 1991.

Casey, seeded only 12th of the 16 players who began the week, then had a lengthy wait to discover who was his last obstacle to the biggest first prize in the whole of golf.

Swede Robert Karlsson, another member of Ian Woosnam’s side at the K Club this coming week, was one down to American Shaun Micheel with eight holes still remaining.

Casey considered Montgomerie favourite for their clash, but the Scot was behind early and could not find the form which had enabled him to come from four down against defending champion Michael Campbell in the quarter-finals.

Montgomerie, winner in 1999 and three times the Volvo PGA champion on the course, managed only a two-over-par 74 in the morning round – the worst score he has produced in 29 matches at the event going back to his 1991 debut.

He went to lunch five down, yet it might have been worse. The gap was six until the Scot made an 18-foot birdie putt to take the long 18th.

He raised his arms in triumph and after that said: “This is not out of bounds yet – but it’s not looking good.

“I need to win three of the first seven this afternoon. If I do that and get back to two down then things could happen.”

What did happen, though, was that the 43-year-old Montgomerie, who admitted he was already “very tired” after his last-green wins over David Howell and Campbell, lost the 21st and 22nd to go seven down.

To win from there would have been the greatest recovery in the championship’s history, but although he won two of the next three there he played the 24th like a 24-handicapper.

His iron for safety off the tee ran too far – not just into rough, but close to bank. In trying to play it with one leg on the bank he shanked it across the fairway, then pulled his next into water and conceded.

A 15-footer on the 27th brought the gap back to five, but a superb drive and five-iron to the 531-yard 30th set up a winning eagle for Casey.

A half on the next completed the hammering and in three games Casey has yet to play the final three holes in the afternoon.

Casey and Karlsson were trying to set up the first final between two debutants since Isao Aoki and Simon Owen in 1978.

There was another carrot dangling in front of both of them. Victory would take them ahead of Howell at the top of the European Order of Merit – a list Howell has led since beating Tiger Woods in the opening event in Shanghai last November.

At that point Casey was still fighting his way out of a nightmare slump last which saw him not make a single halfway cut from April until August, quit the US Open after an opening 85, not make the 10-strong Britain and Ireland side for the Seve Trophy and drop from 29th in the world to 72nd.

But all is well with him again now, the furore he caused after the Ryder Cup by saying of the Americans “we properly hate them” having died away.

Micheel, this week’s biggest giant-killer with the scalps of Woods and world number 10 Luke Donald already under his belt, was two down after four to Karlsson, but came back to lead by one at the halfway mark.

He was two ahead after a tee shot to two feet on the short 20th, but Karlsson birdied the 22nd, made a 40-footer for a half two holes later and won the 27th with a bogey five after Micheel had hooked deep into the trees.

However, the American got his act back together to birdie the short 28th. It was the fourth time he had led in the match.

The four players were already guaranteed £120,000 (€178,141) for their week’s work, but reaching the final was worth £400,000 (€593,802).

There was a body of opinion that it would be no bad thing for Europe’s chances in the Ryder Cup next week for Montgomerie, the oldest player on either team, not to have an arduous weekend.

But that was not to say he did not want to become even more tired, of course.