Golf: Brilliant Price costs Harrington

Welshman Phillip Price ended a seven-year wait for his second European Tour title with a brilliant victory in the Algarve Portuguese Open at Quinta do Lago.

Price carded a superb final round 64, just one shot outside the course record, for a 15-under-par total and two-shot victory over Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and Germany’s Sven Struver.

Scotland’s Alastair Forsyth, Spain’s Ignacio Garrido and New Zealand’s Stephen Scahill shared fourth place on 11 under with Germany’s Alex Cejka and Australian Brett Rumford another stroke adrift.

Price, whose only other win also came in the Portuguese Open in 1994 at Penha Longa, collected the first prize of £104,000 to move up to sixth place in the Ryder Cup standings, while Harrington moved above Lee Westwood into second.

Five players began the day tied for the lead on 11-under-par with Price four behind after rounds of 72, 67 and 70.

But it did not take long for the 34-year-old from Pontypridd to make an impression with five birdies in his first six holes taking him into the lead at 12-under-par.

A bogey on the seventh where he missed from seven feet for par briefly halted his charge and allowed Yorkshire’s Simon Dyson to move into the lead on 13 under with birdies on the second and fourth.

But Dyson fell back when he hit his drive out of bounds on the sixth to run up a double bogey six and when Price birdied the 10th, 13th and 14th to move to 14 under he was two ahead of Harrington, who had made just one birdie on the ninth.

Three putts from 20 feet on the 15th for a bogey from Price gave the chasing pack hope, but he immediately made amends by chipping in for a birdie from just off the green on the 16th and then pitched to within a foot of the hole on the 17th to effectively seal victory.

Harrington had birdied the 13th to keep in touch but when he failed to birdie the par-five 17th he had to settle for his 12th runners-up finish.

Struver kept Price waiting until almost the last moment to be sure of victory after birdies at the 13th, 14th and 17th gave the German a glimmer of hope, but it was asking too much to eagle the 18th and Price, who finished eighth on the Order of Merit last year with four second-place finishes, began his celebrations.

Collated scores and totals after final round of Algarve Portuguese Open, Quinta do Lago (Gbr&Irl unless stated, Par 72):

(x) denotes amateurs

273 P Price 72 67 70 64 (£104,330)

275 P Harrington 64 70 71 70, S Struver (Ger) 70 70 65 70 (£54,371 each)

277 A Forsyth 68 68 72 69, I Garrido (Spa) 69 68 70 70, S Scahill (Nzl) 70 69 66 72 (£26,851 each)

278 A Cejka (Ger) 70 73 70 65, B Rumford (Aus) 74 68 67 69 (£17,215each)

279 R Claydon 70 72 71 66, W Bennett 70 70 70 69, D Howell 67 70 69 73, N Fasth (Swe) 66 72 68 73, D Gilford 66 70 69 74, S Dyson 69 69 67 74

280 B Davis 71 71 73 65, M Lundberg (Swe) 70 72 69 69, E Boult (Nzl) 67 73 69 71, R Wessels (Rsa) 73 68 66 73

281 (x) N Dougherty 71 72 71 67, M Lafeber (Ned) 72 71 71 67, S Luna (Spa) 71 70 72 68, R Green (Aus) 71 72 69 69, D Park 70 71 69 71, P Sjoland (Swe) 67 72 70 72, A Hansen (Den) 68 71 69 73, T Immelman (Rsa) 68 73 67 73

282 P Quirici (Swi) 73 71 71 67, H Otto (Rsa) 71 73 70 68, G Turner (Nzl) 69 74 69 70, J Robinson 71 68 72 71, N Colsaerts (Bel) 71 70 70 71, H Stenson (Swe) 70 73 68 71, A Coltart 75 68 68 71, M Brier (Aut) 70 72 69 71, R Chapman 68 70 72 72, J Haeggman (Swe) 68 72 68 74

283 G Havret (Fra) 71 72 75 65, D Botes (Rsa) 73 69 71 70, S Kjeldsen (Den) 73 70 69 71, P McGinley 71 69 70 73, R Byrd (USA) 72 71 67 73, M Mackenzie 70 72 68 73, R Gonzalez (Arg) 68 71 68 76

284 D Higgins 66 77 72 69, H Nystrom (Swe) 72 71 71 70, S Webster 69 74 70 71, I Woosnam 74 70 69 71, J Bickerton 69 73 70 72, J Sandelin (Swe) 72 71 69 72, P Fowler (Aus) 71 69 71 73, A Forsbrand (Swe) 70 69 71 74, F Cea (Spa) 71 73 66 74

285 M Scarpa (Ita) 76 66 74 69, J Rose 70 71 74 70, B Dredge 72 71 71 71, M Blackey 68 75 71 71, M Mouland 70 70 73 72, R Russell 72 71 69 73, G Rojas (Arg) 72 69 70 74

286 J Rystrom (Swe) 71 73 74 68, D Lynn 66 75 76 69, M Gronberg (Swe) 72 71 74 69, J Hobday (Rsa) 70 70 76 70, M Davis 70 74 72 70, TJ Munoz (Spa) 68 75 70 73, P Eales 74 70 69 73

287 M Pinero (Spa) 75 68 72 72, D Hospital (Spa) 70 73 72 72, H Kuehne (USA) 71 69 73 74, P Streeter 72 72 68 75, J Berendt (Arg) 68 75 68 76

288 I Poulter 67 76 75 70, A Oldcorn 70 74 72 72, R Winchester 69 74 71 74

289 (x) N Campino (Por) 72 71 74 72, (x) D Price 70 73 72 74, K Ferrie 68 74 70 77

290 C Cevaer (Fra) 71 70 76 73, A Raitt 70 74 73 73, SP Webster 70 74 71 75

291 C Hainline (USA) 72 69 73 77

293 J Rivero (Spa) 70 74 76 73