Frenchman Thomas Levet kept the shocks coming thick and fast on the European tour on Sunday when he won a four-man play-off in the Victor Chandler British Masters at Woburn.

After Henrik Stenson's rookie win at the Benson and Hedges International Open and Andrew Oldcorn's triumph last Monday at the Volvo PGA Championship, the 32-year-old Parisian captured the £208,330 first prize with an eight-foot birdie putt at the third extra hole.

Levet, whose only previous success in 255 tour events was at the 1998 Cannes Open when he was not even a member of the circuit, had finished level with England's David Howell and Swedes Robert Karlsson and Mathias Gronberg on the 14 under par total of 274.

Howell and Karlsson, the two who had been clear of the field with a round to go, crashed out with bogeys on the first play-off hole.

Levet could have finished it off there, but missed from five feet. Undeterred, however, he stayed alive with an eight-footer on the next - again the 459-yard 18th - and then repeated the trick when he and Gronberg went to the 176-yard 17th.

The £208,330 first prize was more than four times Levet's previous biggest cheque and on grabbing the title he went on a hand-smacking run around the gallery reminiscent of the one done by Hale Irwin at the 1991 US Open.

Clearly overjoyed, he afterwards revealed the secret of his success - an Irish coin he had found on the ground.

"I had the luck of the Irish," he said. "The pressure in a play-off is unbelievable, but I've been in seven in my career and I've only ever lost one."

It was the first four-man play-off on the European tour since the 1993 Honda Open in Germany.

Levet, 125/1 at the start of the week and 50/1 when he set off in the last round four behind Howell, climbs from 63rd in the Ryder Cup standings to 13th.

Howell, one stroke ahead at the start of the day, missed three three-foot putts in an outward 37 and looked out of it when he drove wildly on the long 11th, had to take a penalty drop and ran up a double bogey seven.

He missed another tiny putt on the next to remain four behind, but when he birdied the next two he was back in it and mistakes from the others gave him the play-off chance.

Karlsson and Levet both bogeyed the 14th and 16th, while Gronberg was bunkered at the 15th and 17th and bogeyed them.

Gronberg set the target when he parred the last for a 68, but Levet, short in two, holed from six feet for a 69 and then Karlsson sank a 10-footer and Howell an eight-footer to join them.

That was as good as it got for them, though.

Howell, having closed with a 73, said: "I'm obviously gutted, It just all went wrong. It's the first play-off I've played, so hopefully I can learn from the experience, but it's disappointing when you are leading and don't end up winning.

"Missing those tiddlers did for me really. I putted terribly." Karlsson, who like Gronberg would have gone sixth on the Ryder Cup table by winning, said: "I came into the week not playing well and I just haven't putted well enough.

"I was disappointed at the 16th because I didn't know I led on my own then. I would have been more conservative. But that's life."

Another Swede, Olle Karlsson, was fifth on 10 under, while Lee Westwood and Londoner Anthony Wall would have been alongside him but for double-bogeying the last.

Colin Montgomerie, pre-tournament favourite and lying third after an opening 68 in which he covered the front nine in 30, looked thoroughly dejected as he finished down in 27th place on three under.

Montgomerie had reckoned that the Marquess course "has me written all over it," which only served to make his subsequent performance all the more depressing.

The 37-year-old Scot began the season by winning the Australian Masters, but he has not won in Europe now for 57 weeks and as a result of this week he has now fallen out of the top 10 in the Ryder Cup table again.

There is time to repair that, of course, and captain Sam Torrance said yesterday he has "no concerns whatsoever". But only 15 counting events left and three of them are majors, where playing - and in particular putting - as he is he cannot hope to compete.

This week's English Open at the Forest of Arden - a course on which he has won twice - is his last chance to build some confidence for the US Open in Oklahoma.

"I've got to start again and see if I can improve," he said. And when asked if there was anything in particular he had to work on he replied: "Everything."

Torrance also said on Saturday that as things stood in the race for places US Tour winners Sergio Garcia and Jesper Parnevik had to be in line for his two wild cards.

That might disappoint Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo and Miguel Angel Jimenez to name but three, but 24 hours on Montgomerie is back in the equation - and that is far more worrying for everybody.

Torrance himself was joint 11th with a round to go, but crashed to a 78.

Collated final round scores & totals in the Victor Chandler British Masters at the Marquess course, Woburn (GB & Irl unless stated, par 72)

274 T Levet (Fra) 69 69 67 69, M Gronberg (Swe) 69 70 67 68, R Karlsson (Swe) 66 67 69 72, D Howell 68 65 68 73 (Levet won at 3rd extra hole. Levet wins £208,330, Gronberg, Karlsson and Howell win £93,210 each)

278 O Karlsson (Swe) 71 70 68 69 (£53,000)

279 R Gonzalez (Arg) 70 73 67 69, N Fasth (Swe) 74 69 66 70

280 A Wall 70 68 69 73, L Westwood 69 70 67 74

281 R Wessels (Rsa) 70 68 72 71

282 F Jacobson (Swe) 70 71 75 66, E Simsek (Ger) 68 73 73 68, M Mackenzie 70 70 66 76

283 M Mouland 70 73 72 68, I Woosnam 69 73 72 69, W Bennett 70 72 72 69, R Green (Aus) 73 71 70 69, J Hugo (Rsa) 72 72 70 69, A Scott (Aus) 67 74 71 71, S Struver (Ger) 68 73 71 71, R Muntz (Ned) 72 70 70 71

284 S Leaney (Aus) 72 72 73 67, P Mitchell 72 69 74 69, G Turner (Nzl) 70 72 73 69, J Rose 70 70 73 71, M McNulty (Zim) 70 66 76 72 285 J Senden (Aus) 71 69 78 67, D Carter 76 66 72 71, J Bickerton 69 73 72 71, D Park 72 71 71 71, C Montgomerie 68 71 74 72, T Bjorn (Den) 69 75 69 72, P Casey 71 69 69 76

286 G Owen 68 74 73 71, S Tinning (Den) 72 72 71 71, S Lyle 69 72 72 73, J Berendt (Arg) 70 71 72 73, P O'Malley (Aus) 71 71 71 73, A Cejka (Ger) 71 71 71 73, N O'Hern (Aus) 69 70 72 75, B Davis 70 74 66 76 287 I Garbutt 71 73 72 71, M Roe 73 70 72 72, D Gilford 72 72 71 72, D Clarke 70 72 71 74, M Campbell (Nzl) 74 70 69 74

288 C Hanell (Swe) 74 70 76 68, F Henge (Swe) 70 72 74 72, G Evans 74 69 73 72, M Brier (Aut) 72 72 70 74, A Coltart 70 68 75 75, S Torrance 72 72 66 78

289 P Fowler (Aus) 71 69 77 72, S Dyson 73 71 71 74, P Sjoland (Swe) 71 73 69 76, D Robertson 72 70 70 77 290 C Rodiles (Spn) 72 70 76 72, J Moseley (Aus) 73 71 74 72, I Poulter 72 70 74 74, D Lynn 69 74 73 74, T Gogele (Ger) 70 72 73 75, P Haugsrud (Nor) 72 71 72 75, D Smyth 72 72 71 75, J Robinson 72 72 71 75, R Claydon 73 70 69 78

291 M Scarpa (Ita) 72 71 76 72, A Oldcorn 71 73 74 73

292 M Bernardini (Ita) 68 74 79 71

293 C Rocca (Ita) 72 70 73 78

295 E Boult (Nzl) 73 71 70 81

296 N Cheetham 73 71 73 79

297 D Fichardt (Rsa) 74 68 80 75

298 E Darcy 68 75 77 78, T Johnstone (Zim) 72 72 76 78