Padraig Harrington yesterday became the first home winner of the Irish Open in 25 years after a dramatic play-off victory over Wales' Bradley Dredge.
Harrington was four shots clear at the turn and two clear with two to play, but bogeyed the 17th to Dredge's birdie to leave the pair tied on five under par playing the 18th.
Both made par and headed back to the 18th tee for a sudden death play-off. Both found the right rough off the tee and were perilously close to the river with their second shots.
Dredge's went slightly further left, leaving him an awkward stance with the ball above his feet and this cost him as his 150-yard seven-iron approach dropped agonisingly short, plugging in the river bank just in front of the green.
The Welshman managed to hack out a few yards, advance the ball over the back of the green, then chip to within five feet but Harrington got up and down from 28 feet to secure an emotional victory with a par five.
Harrington took a three-shot lead into the final round and, watched by John O'Leary - the last Irishman to win the title in 1982 - got off to a shaky start when he fluffed a chip to bogey the second, but bounced back with a birdie on the next.
Another bogey on the fifth after a poor drive saw his lead down to a single shot as England's Simon Wakefield, playing in the group in front, birdied the seventh.
Roared on by large and vocal home support, Harrington then birdied the seventh and eighth and went one better with a superb eagle on the par-five ninth - holing from ten feet - to move to seven under par.
Harrington's lead was halved when he three-putted the 11th for bogey and Dredge birdied the 12th after recovering from a greenside bunker.
Dredge looked to have let Harrington off the hook when he three-putted the 16th after an overly-cautious tee shot, but there was still time for more drama to come.
Dredge missed the 17th fairway but fired a superb approach to three feet for birdie, while Harrington, from the middle of the fairway, missed the green and ran up a bogey five.
All square playing the last, both players made par fives to set up the play-off.
Final totals: 283 Padraig Harrington 73 68 71 71 (£284,141)
283 Bradley Dredge 75 71 69 68 (£189,425)
(Padraig Harrington wins at 1st extra hole)
287 Simon Wakefield 70 72 73 72 (£106,725)
288 Andres Romero (Arg) 68 74 75 71, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 69 74 73 72, Richard Green (Aus) 71 73 72 72
290 Simon Dyson 68 78 75 69, Peter Hanson (Swe) 68 78 73 71, Francesco Molinari (Ita) 71 74 73 72, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 74 72 72 72
292 James Kingston (Rsa) 69 78 76 69
293 Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 72 78 75 68, Alexander Noren (Swe) 74 75 75 69, David Lynn 72 75 76 70, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 73 72 77 71, Marc Warren 76 73 73 71, James Heath 74 70 77 72, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 69 74 76 74, Gary Murphy 74 72 73 74, Damien McGrane 75 72 70 76.
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