Micheel wins maiden major

Micheel survived a see-saw last round to land a life-changing win More photos from Oak Hill

Shaun Micheel produced the shot of the year to clinch the 85th USPGA in thrilling fashion at Oak Hill on Sunday.

The 34-year-old American, previously only a household name in his own household, went to the 72nd hole of the championship with a one-shot lead over playing partner Chad Campbell.

With only a few feet between them after their drives on the par-four 18th, the 169th-ranked Micheel fired a seven-iron from 174 yards out to within two inches of the cup for a tap-in birdie and a first PGA win.

The 29-year-old Campbell parred the last to claim second place, two shots adrift of Micheel and one shot ahead of South Africa's Tim Clark, who had threatened to gatecrash the leading duo's party with a charge on the front nine before falling away after the turn.

The unheralded trio were the only men under par after four rounds at the demanding New York course, with Germany's Alex Cejka in fourth place on even par.

FINAL USPGA LEADERBOARD -4 Shaun Micheel (US) -2 Chad Campbell (US) -1 Tim Clark (SA) Even Alex Cejka (Ger) +2 Jay Haas (US), Ernie Els (SA) R4 as it happened

World number two Ernie Els was the best placed of the more usual contenders - two shots further back in a tie for fifth with American veteran Jay Haas.

The surprise result comes less than a month after Ben Curtis stunned the golf world by winning the Open as the 396th best player in the world.

And Micheel's triumph completes a clean sweep of first-time winners at this year's majors, following the breakthrough victories achieved by Mike Weir (Masters), Jim Furyk (US Open) and Curtis.

The four majors have not been won by first-timers in a single season since 1969, when George Archer clinched the Masters, Orville Moody the US Open, England's Tony Jacklin the Open and Raymond Floyd the USPGA.

When asked about his miraculous approach to the 18th, Micheel said: "My driving was leaving me, but I had the perfect yardage at the last and a nice perfect lie.

"I was trying to hit it somewhere on the green and was fortunate I didn't have to line that one up."

I'm proud of being the USPGA champion - I didn't think it would be happening when I came here Shaun Micheel More reaction from Oak Hill Shaun Micheel profiled

With none of the leading trio having a PGA title to their name, the galleries were treated to a thrilling contest between players they could scarcely have heard of before.

But while more recognised names buckled under the pressure, Micheel, Campbell and Clark turned the final major of the year into a three-way contest that only Cejka ever threatened to interrupt.

Masters champion Weir, who begun his round three shots off the lead, crashed out of contention with five bogeys on his first five holes, while Els could never get any momentum going.

Worse was to befall Vijay Singh on Sunday, as he carded a nine-over-par 79 to slide to 11 over for the tournament - 15 shots behind Micheel.

But one shot worse off than the Fijian was Tiger Woods, who recorded his worst score and finish at a major since turning professional in 1996.

England's Luke Donald finished on eight over after a 72 to be the top-placed Briton.