Golf: Price is right

Welshman Phillip Price was today celebrating shedding the tag of Europe’s ‘nearly man’ after his stunning victory in the Algarve Portuguese Open.

Price carded a superb final-round 64 at Quinta do Lago, 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 Forysth, 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.

It was only Price’s second tournament win in an 11-year career on the European Tour that has seen him finish second eight times with 21 other top-10 finishes.

And the first prize of £104,000 moved him up to sixth in the Ryder Cup standings and firmly into the reckoning for a place in Sam Torrance’s side to face the United States at the Belfry in September.

‘‘I think I’m relieved more than anything,’’ admitted Price, whose only other win also came in the Portuguese Open in 1994 and who finished eighth on the Order of Merit last season on the back of four second-place finishes, including one behind Tiger Woods in the NEC Invitational.

‘‘I’ve finished second so many times and I was thinking playing the last three holes ‘I just don’t want to blow this’.

‘‘I’ve found it very difficult to win events so to get the job done is very pleasing.

‘‘It’s not very nice having the tag of being the man who finishes second all the time although a lot of it has not been my doing Gary Orr eagled the last in this event last year to beat me and Jose Maria Olazabal eagled the 17th at the Belfry in the Benson and Hedges.

‘‘It’s going to be a big boost to my confidence, winning a tournament was one of my goals and the Ryder Cup is another one as well as climbing up the world rankings.’’

Five players began the day tied for the lead on 11 under par with Price four behind in joint 15th 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.

Dyson fell back however when he was extremely unlucky to see his drive hit a stake holding a spectator rope and bounce 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 in just five-and-half years on tour.

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 could begin celebrating.

Harrington meanwhile was the model of consistency from tee to green, hitting all 18 greens in regulation, but could not rediscover his magic putting touch from his first round 64.

‘‘I had 34 putts which is just too many to have a realistic chance of winning,’’ said Harrington, who has now finished second three times already this season.

‘‘I hit 18 greens and if somebody told me I was going to play tee to green the way I did I would have been thrilled but I should have had a much better score.’’

Harrington did at least have the consolation of moving up to second in the Ryder Cup table and seems almost certain to make his second appearance in the event in September.