Price is pushed to brink

Defending champion Nick Price snatched the first prize from Tiger Woods in a dramatic play-off at Sun City yesterday. The pair, in the second-last grouping of the day, had scorched round the course in six-under-par 66s to finish on 15 under. They then shared the first four play-off holes in par before Price's approach shot on their third visit to the par-four 17th left him with the easier putt.

Woods' putt from the edge of the green swung agonisingly close to the cup.

But Zimbabwe's Price (41), coolly knocked in a 10-foot putt for his third Million Dollar prize.

The 22-year-old American, playing in South Africa for the first time, set up the play-off with an outrageous, chip-in birdie at the 18th.

Price had two-putted for his par four on the 18th, leaving Woods needing to hole a delicate chip from seven yards to tie. "I hit it right on the line I wanted to," Wood said. "It was just a question of whether or not it had enough pace." Thankfully for Woods it did.

"Tiger has the knack of doing the big thing at the right time," Price said. "I wasn't surprised in the least when he chipped in.

"You couldn't have scripted it any better than that," said an elated Price. "You know, both Tiger and I played very well today, and I knew going down 16 after we'd hit our tee shots there that one of us was going to win it, because the guys behind us (overnight leader Lee Westwood and Justin Leonard) weren't really doing anything." Westwood, who hit 66 on Saturday to lead going into the final round by two shots, bogeyed two of the first four holes and never really recovered as the field closed in around him.

He finished three shots back, joint fourth on 12 under with Mark O'Meara.

Leonard led briefly, but his challenge faded with a bogey on the 16th, when Price and Woods were on an irresistible surge.

"It was really exciting for both of us. It really was," said Price. "What a day. I don't know how we're going to top this one."

He was full of praise for Woods, 19 years his junior: "Like I said to him today, `I've got a great future behind me. Yours is all ahead of you'."

Later Woods, disappointed at losing but encouraged by his surge, felt he had blown it.

"I had a chance. On 17, 18, in the first batch of play-off holes I had a chance. I pulled both putts, right to left, and that's as good as it gets. In order to beat a calibre of putter like Nick Price you're going to have to make one of those putts, and I didn't make one of those putts," he said.

It was Price's third victory at the tournament since 1993 when he set a record score of 264 at 24-under-par. His 72-hole total this time was nine shots worse than that.

Westwood's one-over-par 73 was the worst score of the day by any of the 12-man field and came at the end of a week when he had played his best golf of the year.

Westwood's woes started on the first hole when his eight-iron approach overshot the green. "It was all over the flag from the moment I hit it and the lie I got after it was the worst you could imagine," Westwood said.

He took three more to get down from there and carded his first dropped shot since the same hole on Friday. In between times, Westwood had played 35 holes in 14 under par. But unlike Friday he was unable to bounce back from the disappointment of an opening bogey.

The compensation for Westwood was still fairly substantial. His share of the fourth place with Mark O'Meara, who too had led during the final round, was £93,000.