EUROPEAN

• Karlsson wins three-way playoff at St. Andrews

  
  

  St.

  Andrews, Scotland (Sports Network) - Robert Karlsson made a birdie on the first playoff hole Sunday to beat Martin Kaymer and Ross Fisher to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

  Karlsson rolled in a four-foot birdie putt on St. Andrews' historic 18th green for his second win in four weeks and his ninth career title on the European Tour.

  "Unexpected," the lanky Swede described the victory.

  Karlsson and Fisher -- already done their final rounds -- only made the playoff after Kaymer missed a four-foot par putt at the 17th hole in regulation to lose a one-shot lead.

  Kaymer was then unable to make a birdie at the wide-open 18th, settling for par and a four-under 68 that left him tied with the other players at 10-under 278.

  Karlsson and Fisher both closed with seven-under 65s in the final round.

  Back at the 18th for the playoff, Fisher all but knocked himself out of contention after his tee shot found a watery grave in the burn. He would eventually miss a par putt.

  Karlsson and Kaymer, meanwhile, both hit the fairway with their tee shots. The playoff would be decided on their approaches.

  Kaymer knocked his to about 10 feet -- not too bad, but not great either. He was left with a slight break on the downhiller, and he missed it on the edge of the cup.

  After Karlsson stuck his approach inside five feet, he calmly rolled in the birdie putt for the win.

  The victory moved Karlsson to the top of the European Tour Order of Merit as the circuit's leading money winner. His two wins in the last four weeks have come near the tail end of a season that has seen the Swede post nine other top-10 finishes -- including three in major championships.

  Karlsson, who shot a 76 at Carnoustie on Saturday -- the tournament was played on a three-course rotation -- was surprised at the suddenness of his latest win.

  "I played a bad round yesterday and all of a sudden I got myself into a playoff," said Karlsson. "Then I made a birdie on the first hole and said, 'Oops, that was quick.'" Too quick for Kaymer and Fisher, perhaps, especially since the 15th playoff on the European Tour this season looked destined to happen a long time before it did.

  After Fisher took a one-shot with an eagle at the 14th hole, Karlsson and Kaymer both tied him with birdies on the same hole. Fisher was first in the clubhouse at 10-under after closing the round with four straight pars.

  Kaymer then took a one-shot lead with a three-foot birdie at the 16th, but his short par miss at the 17th left him tied with Fisher and Karlsson (who was also in the clubhouse by this point) with one hole to play.

  Opting to used his putter from the smooth fairway at the 18th, Kaymer rolled the long shot above the hole -- leaving himself, presumably unplanned, with a downhill putt from about 10 feet.

  He missed it on the left edge, forcing the three-way playoff.

  The trio ended two shots ahead of Jarmo Sandelin (70) on a tight leaderboard.

  Jose-Filipe Lima (68), Anthony Wall (68) and Magnus A Carlsson (70) finished another stroke further back at seven-under 281.

  10/05 13:21:34 ET