Australian Craig Parry defeated Nick O'Hern at the fourth hole of a sudden-death play-off to win the Heineken Classic at Royal Melbourne after the pair finished locked together on 14 under par 270.
O’Hern, who held a one stroke lead going into the final round, shot a level par 71 while Parry birdied the 17th for a one under par 70 to match O’Hern’s total. With nothing separating the two, the contest moved into extra holes and it was at the fourth time of asking that Parry finally got the edge when he holed from 15 feet and then watched as O’Hern’s putt from a similar distance rolled past the lip.
O'Hern, seeking a first European Tour title after 11 top ten finishes last season, had the upper hand throughout the play-off but was unable to take his chances as Parry refused to concede defeat.
The left-hander missed from seven feet at the first extra hole after Parry had holed from twice the distance to scramble a par, and then missed a virtually identical putt when the players returned to the 18th for a second time.
Switching to the 17th, Parry holed from ten feet to stay alive after a clumsy chip from short of the green. On returning to the 18th, both players fired their approach to within 15 feet of the hole but this time Parry holed for birdie before O'Hern missed from a few inches closer.
"That was hard work. At every hole I thought I was going to lose," Parry said.
"This ranks right up there...it means a real lot to me."
Parry collected €225,367 while O’Hern netted €€127,708 to climb to sixth in The European Tour Order of Merit.
"I played my heart out today and it just didn't happen," said O'Hern.
"It was very frustrating. I hit the shots I wanted to in the playoff and hit the putts I wanted to but the ball wouldn't seem to go in the hole for me."
England’s Simon Dyson and Australia's Jarrod Lyle finished a shot back after both bogeyed the final hole to miss out on a chance of making the play-off, Dyson unable to save par from a greenside bunker.
World Number Three, Ernie Els, of South Africa, also got to 14 under par during the final round in his bid to win the title for a fourth successive year but bogeys at the 12th and 18th holes cost him his chance an historic feat. He closed with a one under par 70 to finish in fifth place on 272.
Lyle, playing in his sixth tournament as a professional, was the sentimental favourite to win. The 23 year old was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1999 but made a full recovery and his emotional charge up the leaderboard captured the imagination of the country.
Fighting back tears during a television interview, he said: "I feel like I am the real champion here.
"I have always been a fighter. Today I never gave up."
