Cigar-smoking, wine-drinking Miguel Angel Jimenez achieved the biggest victory of his long career at Wentworth - and left England's Oliver Wilson the nearly man yet again.
The 44-year-old Spaniard, having holed in one earlier in the day, collected the record BMW PGA Championship first prize of nearly Ј600,000 with a two-putt birdie four on the second hole of a play-off.
"This is my 20th season on Tour and it's a nice present," said Jimenez, who as a result sits proudly at the top of the Order of Merit and will almost certainly earn his third Ryder Cup cap in September.
Wilson, who would have headed the money list himself if he had triumphed, has now been a runner-up no fewer than seven times, including four this season, and the Mansfield 27-year-old has yet to taste success.
This one will hurt more than most. It was his third play-off loss and a fine bunker shot at the first play-off hole had given him a putt to win after Jimenez had three-putted from the back fringe, but his seven-footer lipped out.
Then, when they played the long 18th for the third time in the day, he found the right-hand rough just as he had on his first visit and a 12-foot birdie attempt missed as well.
With one hole to play Wilson and Jimenez, seeking to be the third oldest winner of the title after Dai Rees and Arnold Palmer, were one ahead of overnight leader Robert Karlsson.
Wilson was in the group ahead and by missing a 15-foot birdie chance - he will certainly have no fond memories of the green - opened the door.
Jimenez was favourite when he was in the rough just right of the green in two, but then fluffed his chip.
A three-way tie was on the cards then with Karlsson only three feet from the flag with his pitch, but while Jimenez got up and down to tie Wilson on the 11-under-par mark of 277, the Swede not only fluffed his chance, but missed the next one as well.
That made him third for the third week in a row and this time in a tie with England's Luke Donald, who had begun the last day nine adrift of him and shot a best-of-the-day 65.
Karlsson had come from four behind to four ahead in the third round and, although he warned the same thing could happen to him as it did to Paul McGinley, nobody expected him to be in that position by the 12th tee.
Incredibly, his lead went in the opening stretch. While he bogeyed the first and third, Wilson birdied the third and fourth.
Jimenez matched those two birdies and then, after Karlsson had gone ahead again, the Malaga golfer grabbed top spot with the sixth ace of his Tour career with a four-iron to the 212-yard fifth.
He and Wilson both turned in 31 to Karlsson's 37 and when they both birdied the long 12th they were three clear of the chasing pack.
Wilson bogeyed the 13th after going just over the green and missing from eight feet, but sank a 25-footer two holes later and was ahead when Jimenez, after two great saves, blundered by missing from less than two feet on the same green for a three-putt bogey.
However, a wild drive down the 17th finished in a bush and after taking a penalty drop, Wilson could do no better than a bogey six.
Karlsson's last-green shocker meant he and Donald each earned just over Ј200,000. Indian Jyoti Randhawa was fifth and that was worth more than Ј150,000.
A week that promised so much for McGinley at halfway - his 13 under total was a tournament best - fell away badly. He could have gone top of the money list as well, but finished only joint 10th.
Meanwhile, the 30th place achieved by Alastair Forsyth had significance because it makes him and not Colin Montgomerie the leading Scot in the world rankings.
Collated final-round scores (Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 72):
277 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 70 67 72 68 Oliver Wilson 70 66 73 68 (Jimenez won play-off at 2nd extra hole)
279 Robert Karlsson (Swe) 66 69 70 74, Luke Donald 72 69 73 65
280 Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 73 68 69 70
281 Alexander Noren (Swe) 75 68 71 67, Andres Romero (Arg) 72 69 73 67, Richard Green (Aus) 70 69 73 69, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 76 69 70 66
282 Paul Casey 71 68 73 70, Steve Webster 71 70 72 69, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 71 65 76 70, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 72 66 74 70, Paul McGinley 65 66 79 72, Simon Khan 71 71 71 69
283 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 68 70 72 73, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 71 67 74 71, Peter Hanson (Swe) 72 71 70 70, Gary Orr 70 68 73 72, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 71 70 71 71, Oliver Fisher 71 73 69 70
284 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 68 71 73 72, Marc Warren 69 70 75 70, Paul Lawrie 72 73 70 69
285 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 70 70 76 69, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 75 69 73 68, James Kingston (Rsa) 72 71 71 71, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 72 71 70 72, Simon Dyson 75 67 73 70
286 Alastair Forsyth 72 70 72 72, Miles Tunnicliff 70 65 77 74, Sam Little 74 68 73 71, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha) 72 69 74 71
287 Soren Hansen (Den) 76 66 73 72, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 70 73 68 76, Peter Lawrie 73 72 70 72, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 69 76 75
288 Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 72 71 71 74, Gregory Havret (Fra) 70 74 73 71
289 Hennie Otto (Rsa) 71 69 75 74, Damien McGrane 72 66 77 74, Anders Hansen (Den) 75 69 77 68, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 67 76 74 72, Simon Wakefield 68 71 77 73, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 74 70 74 71
290 Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 72 72 70 76, Sam Walker 75 68 72 75, Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 69 76 71 74, Garry Houston 68 74 75 73, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 73 72 72 73, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 73 70 74 73, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 71 72 74 73
291 Jamie Donaldson 72 72 74 73, Nick Dougherty 70 73 76 72, Ariel Canete (Arg) 74 71 71 75, Paul Broadhurst 72 71 74 74
292 Graeme McDowell 70 73 75 74
293 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 69 76 75 73, Mark Foster 72 70 73 78, Thomas Levet (Fra) 74 71 73 75, Johan Edfors (Swe) 71 74 73 75
294 Anton Haig (Rsa) 70 75 75 74
297 David Howell 70 71 77 79, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 73 68 74 82
298 Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 70 72 79 77, Marcel Siem (Ger) 71 73 78 76
299 Robert Dinwiddie 78 63 79 79
300 Ross Fisher 72 73 80 75, Matthew Morris 71 74 76 79
302 Ross McGowan 73 72 74 83
Heskey: Valencia Good Enough For United
CONSOLATION FOR WILSON
JIMENEZ FOCUS TURNS TO RYDER CUP
