By Steve Scott, golf correspondent at Wentworth

THE VAST experience of Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez was just enough to edge unlucky Englishman Oliver Wilson into his seventh second-place finish after a two-hole play-off and a final round of fluctuating fortunes over the Wentworth West Course in the BMW PGA Championship yesterday.

The pony-tailed, cigar-chomping man from Malaga, known as The Mechanic on tour, won a career-best £597,205 in easily the biggest of his 15 victories in 21 years on the tour, probably cementing a return to the European Ryder Cup team later this year.

Wilson, the 27-year-old from Mansfield, had his chances in regulation and battled hard in the play-off, but was left with his third play-off defeat and the seventh time he has finished second in his third full year on the European Tour.

The pair had tied with closing 68s for 11-under aggregates of 277, two ahead of third round leader Robert Karlsson and the fast-finishing Luke Donald.

“It’s been an emotional day and a very intense week, and it is a fantastic week for me,” said the 44-year-old winner after a birdie on the second play-off hole proved enough to finally end the challenge of the Englishman.

“I have been close before (he was third in 2006 and fifth in 2007) and it has been one of my ambitions to win this championship, so to do it at last, for my 15th tournament victory, is a great feeling.”

Both the play-off pair had opportunities to win the title in regulation and during the two holes of sudden death after they had finished tied with matching lop-sided 68s, which were inspired on the front nine and nervous on the back.

Sweden’s Karlsson began the day with a four-shot advantage, and with the course softened and receptive from heavy overnight rain with no wind to protect it as on Saturday, scores were going low and it seemed that he could walk away with it.

However, over the weekend everyone seemed to the treat the leadership of this most prestigious of European Tour event like it was the lurgy.

Paul McGinley’s warning that the Wentworth West Course could be a radically different sort of challenge from day-to-day proved accurate not only to the field but also to himself. Having raced to the halfway point in a record 13-under, the Irishman couldn’t get up to many holes into the wind on Saturday and tumbled down the field to a 79.

Karlsson took up the baton but fumbled it almost immediately as he and Jimenez got under way on a wet and cool Sunday lunchtime. The Swede bogeyed two of the first three holes and limped unconvincingly to the turn in 37 as his playing partner surged to a six-shot swing.

The Spaniard had birdied the third and fourth to slash the deficit and then came his ace at the 206-yard fifth, a four-iron which skipped over the bank at the front of the green and bounced twice before tucking into the hole.

When Jimenez birdied the seventh, it seemed he had taken charge of the tournament, but he missed an eight-footer for par at the eighth, and by then young Wilson had charged into view.

Four birdies in five holes from the seventh leapt him into a share of the lead and in the group ahead of Jimenez, he seemed to realise he could put the older man under pressure.

THE SIGNIFICANT turning point seemed to happen on the long par four 15th, which Wilson birdied with a flourish and Jimenez, despite playing the hole in wise and cautious fashion, hurried a two-foot putt-out for par which lipped around the hole and gave Wilson the lead with two to play.

However, having negotiated the 16th in par Wilson lost his drive wide right at the long 17th, needed a penalty drop out of a bush, and eventually took a costly bogey six which handed a share of the lead back to Jimenez, who re-gathered himself with pars at 16 and 17.

Wilson again blocked his drive at the 18th into heavy rough at the corner of the dog-leg, meaning he could not reach in two and left himself with a ten footer for a birdie which went by the hole.

Not that the drama in regulation play had finished there.

Jimenez leaked a rescue wood for the middle of the 18th fairway into heavy rough on the right and completely misjudged the pitch, meaning he was happy to get away with a par in the end and a place in the play-off.

Meanwhile Karlsson pitched to within four feet and had a chance to join sudden death but missed not only the birdie putt but also the return, and settled for his third successive third-place in three weeks.

In sudden-death, again on the long 18th, both Jimenez and Wilson hit identical drives and had around 240 yards to the pin, but the younger man found the front right bunker while Jimenez hit his to the back of the green, and it seemed the Spaniard had a big advantage.

However, he hit a clumsy first putt and missed a 15-foot return for birdie and was lucky that Wilson, who came out well from the trap to eight feet, spun his birdie putt off the edge of the hole.

For the third time down the 18th in an hour Jimenez hit his third ideal drive, while this time Wilson pushed his again into the heavy rough and was unable to get up in two.

This time Jimenez’s shot to the green was perfectly positioned and he two-putted from 30 feet as Wilson failed with a 12-footer for the birdie to stay alive.

India’s Jyoti Randhawa shot a 70 for his best performance in the top-line tournament and fifth place with Karlsson sharing third with Luke Donald, who charged to a day’s best of 65—which could have been even better had he not left himself with too much to do after a mediocre Saturday performance.

Gary Orr held on to be top Scot in but had hoped for better over the weekend, shooting a 73 and a 72 when something in the 60s both days could have got him in the mix.

Paul Lawrie shot a 69 on four-under, encouraging himself by taking some of his work from the range out on to the course.

“I’ve never been someone who has ever shirked away from hitting balls but this last two or three weeks I have hit more than normal trying to get the feeling, and it is starting to come.

“I felt this weekend was back to the way it was a few years ago when I was in contention here at the weekend. I will finish in the 20s which is not what I want, but you we are going one step at a time.”

Marc Warren also finished four-under but was furious with his finish, having pushed himself into contention with a run of six birdies in nine holes while having a great scoring duel with Donald.

Yet the Scot slumped down the stretch just when he felt he should be pushing.

“Finishing 5-6-5-5 is not great. For once I got myself into a decent position, only two off the lead, but I was just rubbish on the way in generally.”

Alastair Forsyth was out in 32 but came home in 40 with three bogeys in the last six holes for a two-under aggregate and a finish inside the top 30—displacing Colin Montgomerie as the top Scot in the world rankings for this week at least.