OH, WHAT a tangled web was woven at the Forest of Arden yesterday. Plenty of people had plenty of reasons to be optimistic that victory might be theirs in the Dunlop British Masters, and a goodly number of them had a dart at the title before Thomas Björn finally dredged up the final half-ounce of resolve to beat David Howell and Brian Davis in a sudden-death play-off after they had tied on 282, six under par.

Contenders there were by the fistful at the start of play. Steve Webster had won the previous week, Davis and Howell had hardened their games by extended stints in the United States and Björn was in the sort of form that had already brought him five top-five finishes this season. And then there was Michael Campbell, who had missed five cuts in eight previous appearances. It was he who had the tournament won, then lost it.

The closing stages produced more twists and turns than a Swiss mountain pass, with Björn, Soren Hansen, Davis, Howell and even Darren Clarke mounting challenges for the £283,330 first prize. With an hour left, it was still anybody’s to win.

All had their moments of hope and glory late in the day, but all, too, would be willing to admit that they had been beaten men when Campbell led the field by two strokes just after the turn. However, a doublebogey six on the 13th and another dropped shot ended the New Zealander’s chances.

Howell, who had covered the three holes from the 15th in four under par, then bogeyed the last with victory in his grasp to finish with a 69, the same as Davis, his playing partner. He missed the green on the play-off hole, the 18th, a par-three of devilish intent, by 25 yards. Björn, who had closed with 68, hit a decent shot to within 15 feet and Davis flew the green. It might have been a surfeit of adrenalin that did for the two Englishmen. Björn was in no such bother.

The Dane, who now has peace in his mind where plastic explosive once lay in wait for every error, duly got his par, as did Howell. Davis, whose chip shaved the hole but rolled eight feet past, missed his putt for par and was out of it.

It was only 200 yards back to the tee, but to Björn and Howell it must have seemed like a country hike. Goodness only knows what thoughts were seething as they prepared to try again. Howell found a greenside bunker, came out to eight feet and missed his putt for par. Björn, 15 feet away, calmly took the two putts that he needed for victory, his first since 2002.

“I am very happy as it has been a while,” Björn said. “There have been some tough times since I last won on the European Tour. It is great to have won again on British soil. It makes me feel good that I stayed with it throughout the round.”

Earlier, Clarke, having been deeply embedded in the field for three days, mounted a spectacular bid for freedom. Only the previous day he had bemoaned the fact that his game was so out of kilter that level par represented something of a triumph. On this day, he at least partially silenced the carping critic that so often snipes at him from within his own head.

He birdied the 2nd and then produced the rarest example of golfing ornithology on the par-five 3rd. Left with only 215 yards for his second shot, he struck his five-iron so well that it seemed no more than he deserved when the ball rolled triumphantly into the hole for an albatross two, the first of his career.

He had a much weaker inward half but still finished with a 67, won £38,000 and a watch that was worth more than a lot of people spend on a car. The watch and the money were nice, no doubt, but they were not what Clarke was there for. His last exclusively European Tour victory was here in the Midlands, nearly three years ago. He will not admit it, but this lengthy wait is gnawing away at him.

• Lloyd Saltman, of Scotland, one of only three players to break par in the first round of the English Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship on Thursday, continued the good work at The Oxfordshire yesterday when he pulled away from the rest of the field to secure victory in the tournament by strokes. The former Scottish boys’ strokeplay champion, Saltman, 19, picked up the coveted Brabazon Trophy after rounds of 70, 73, 68 and 67 for a total of 278, 10 under par.