DROITWICH golfer John Bickerton shot a final round level par 72 to finish joint 39th behind winner Trevor Immelman in the Deutsche Bank Open.

Bickerton was well-placed at three under after the opening two rounds but a 76 on Saturday scuppered his chances of a strong score.

His four-round total of 289, one over par, was still enough to earn him over £13,000 in prize money.

But he was 18 shots behind South African Immelman, who birdied the final hole at St Leon-Rot near Heidelberg to capture the title after an epic last day duel with Ireland's Padraig Harrington.

Immelman's curling eight-footer for a three at the 72nd hole dropped for a round of 65.

That left the South African facing an anxious 15 minute wait as Harrington, in the last match, drilled his approach to 10 feet. But Harrington was unable to emulate Immelman's putt and a round of 66 left him one short of the South African's 65, who landed prize money of £334,000.

Between them, the leading pair traded a total of 14 birdies and were only separated by a matter of a few centimetres at the end of an enthralling day's play.

Immelman claimed his third title on The European Tour with a final total of 271, 17 under par with Harrington runner-up on 272 and Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland and Sweden's Joakim Haeggman sharing third on 276.