As Marc Warren walked off the West Course with a smile on his face, he cradled his two-month old son in his arms.

He certainly wasn't going to let that precious bundle slip from his grasp. Moments earlier, the Scot's hopes of getting his hands on the BMW PGA Championship crown evaporated in agonising circumstances during a three-man play-off at Wentworth. It was maybe a good thing that wee Archie slept through the drama.

For the third time in 10 months, it was a case of 'close but no cigar' for the 32-year-old. The Scottish Open and Spanish Open were surrendered down the stretch when leading and, on a fraught final day, the European Tour's flagship sailed by.

Warren had played superbly to move to the front with a back-nine burst that was bolstered by a wedge from 114 yards that dribbled into the hole for an unlikely birdie on the 13th. The golfing gods would have their revenge, though.

In the end, Warren's three-under 69, for a 10-under 278, left him locked at the top with Matteo Manassero and the fast-finishing former champion, Simon Khan, but Warren, who has won all of his four professional titles in play-offs, saw that fine record go up in smoke and it would be the young Italian Manassero who would eventually plunder the bounty.

Having played a 4-iron off the 18th tee all week, Warren changed his strategy when the trio played that hole in the sudden-death shoot-out but plunged a 3-wood into the trees as he tried to up the ante. He was forced to return to play three off the tee but, having smacked a driver onto the downslope of the fairway, his go-for-broke approach found a watery grave in the burn that snakes round the green. The title tilt was over.

"In regular events outside the majors this is the most pressure we play in and I loved every second of it," said Warren. "I felt confident going into the play-off given my previous record. Although I changed my game plan, I felt I had to go for it. I stand by that; it was the right thing to do. It would have felt worse taking a 5 and losing while the guys made 4s. In a play-off you can't lose, only win."

The ultimate winner was Manassero. He had a chance for outright victory on the last in regulation before posting a 69 but took the first prize of £660,500 at the fourth play-off hole as Khan cracked and dumped his approach into the water.

At just 20 years old, the former Amateur champion from Verona has won four European Tour titles and this latest success made him the youngest player to win the PGA title since Bernard Gallacher, who was 20 years and 97 days when he won it back in 1969. The new kid on the block beats that by 60 days.

"I'm the happiest man in the world right now," beamed Manassero, after becoming only the second Italian champion, after Costantino Rocca in 1996. "I've always felt something special about this place and everything has come together for me."

As things began to tighten up on an intriguing final day, it was Ernie Els who ambled into contention with a burst which gave him the early clubhouse lead on eight-under after a 67.

Over the course that he helped to tweak and re-design, the Big Easy made the robust closing stretch look easy as he birdied four of his last five holes, including three in a row from the 16th, as he conjured a grandstand finish.

Like a good old-fashioned rummage in the attic, golfers are forever guddling about for something that can aid their game and Els is no different "I finally found something today," said the reigning Open champion.

"I've been trying to go through the notebook. I had a checklist of about 24 items and finally found something there with my swing and my putting and hung on to it."

Lee Westwood, one shot off the lead after 54 holes, revelled in the sunshine. A trio of birdies at the second, third and fourth saw him take charge and overhaul Alejandro Canizares at the top of the leaderboard.

It was all going swimmingly for the Englishman until back-to-back bogeys at six and seven, and then, at the 11th, he racked up a crippling double-bogey 7 from the trees. By then, Westwood, twice a runner-up, was out of the running and he trudged in with a 73 to share ninth. It was his countryman Khan who took over as pacesetter and the 40-year-old, who came from seven shots behind to win the PGA title in 2010 with a 66, produced another final-day flourish to barge into contention with a similar score.

"My goal was just to keep going and I think I was looking at the leader-board a bit more today than in 2010," he said. Khan would have seen a flying Scotsman steaming along. Despite a topsy-turvy opening, during which he sandwiched an eagle at the fourth between bogeys at three and five, Warren found the straight and narrow while Westwood was crumbling. He reeled off a trio of birdies at 10, 11 and 12 before inching to the front on the 13th, when he holed his third shot, despite finding a fairway bunker.

The Scot found more trouble off the 15th tee with a pulled drive and then failed to get up-and-down from the bunker while Manassero produced a sublime sand shot to save par, haul himself level and take the championship to a first three-man play-off since 1976.

Canizares tied fourth with Miguel Angel Jimenez, who concluded his 600th European Tour event with a birdie, eagle finish in a 67 for 279. Els tied sixth while embattled Sergio Garcia, whose "fried chicken" remarks whipped up a race storm, slipped away quietly with a 72 for 283 and a share of 19th.

From start to finish, it has been quite a week at Wentworth.