GOLF/Golf Links Championship: Stephen Gallacher, at the age of 29 an unconsidered and probably under-rated Scot, lept from relative obscurity to overnight fame yesterday when he won the Dunhill Links Championship, not just in his native Scotland but here at the home of golf.

As a way of recording his first win as a professional it was little less than sensational, as Gallacher beat Graeme McDowell at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off with a birdie three that was almost an eagle two.

The two men had tied on a 19-under-par 269, and both hit good tee-shots down the first, finishing within two yards of each other. Crucially, as it turned out, McDowell was past Gallacher, which meant the Scot, 157th in the world rankings before yesterday, played first to the green.

He hit a magnificent pitch that finished barely two feet behind the hole, forcing the Northern Irishman to try to get somewhere nearly as close.

But in trying to finesse his shot from out of a sand-filled divot, McDowell chunked the shot into the Swilken burn that runs in front of the putting surface. When he failed to hole his next shot, his fourth, it was all over.

"Stevie forced my hand," sighed McDowell afterwards. "Such is life."

Gallacher, like McDowell, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, bogeyed the 17th in regulation play, opening the door for McDowell to birdie the 18th and win outright. But his second shot hit the green and spun back into the Valley of Sin, and eventually the Ulsterman had to hole from seven feet just to make the play-off.

This win lifts Gallacher from 39th in the Order of Merit to 12th, which consolidates a season that had already seen him move up from a world ranking of 231st at the start of the year.

Five previous top-10 finishes helped with that, but this former Scottish Boys champion, a nephew of the former Ryder Cup captain Bernard, had never previously finished higher than 50th in a season-ending order of merit. Now he is likely to be eligible for all the major championships next season.

Moreover, that came even though before this tournament he confessed to the game being "a struggle". Then he and his coach, Adam Hunter, hit on the idea of playing most shots softly, even if it meant taking an extra club, and it paid off.

Gallacher, his family's cheers ringing in his ears, said afterwards: "This is what you are in the game for - and now I'm in the top 15 in the order of merit I want to stay there."

The overnight leader, Donald, had a chance to join the play-off with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th, but this usually unemotional young man sank to his knees as it finished, dead on line, three inches short. Instead of a chance of a win the title and the €645,000 first prize, it meant he had to settle for a tie for third with Ian Poulter and €73,900.

Lee Westwood had another top-10 finish, but the win he has been looking for all season still eludes him. He was defending champion here by dint of the best stroke of his life a year ago, a five-iron under the most severe pressure to the green of the hardest hole in golf, the 17th, the Road Hole. This time, though, he bogeyed the hole.

"I took the wrong club," he admitted, "and it finished 15 yards short of where I thought it would. Furthermore it finished in what is a fatal place, and I was duly punished."

Westwood had the Road Hole bunker between him and the green and he had to putt sideways away from the hole to get on to the putting surface.

Ernie Els had said that giving Donald a five-stroke start was almost certainly too much and that if he was to have any chance at all "I'll have to hole the first putt." Far from doing that, though, the South African bogeyed what is one of the easiest opening holes in championship play and then only parred the next two holes, both good birdie chances.

From there on he played steadily, but it was not the spectacular display he needed either to win or seriously to close the gap between him and the world number one, Vijay Singh.

The Fijian was also unable to summon up any inspiration. He had said on Saturday that the only time in Fiji that it was as cold as it was that day in Carnoustie was when the fridge door was opened. Yesterday it must have felt as if he was actually playing inside the fridge.

In the circumstances, a 70 was a good round but it left him tied for 18th, not a finish to which a man who had won five of his previous six tournaments is accustomed.

The pro-am section was won by Craig Heatley, a New Zealand businessman playing with Fred Couples, with a score of 37 under. He also won under the same format at last year's AT&T event at Pebble Beach, playing with his compatriot Phil Tataurangi.

Gianluca Vialli, at 35 under, came in no fewer than 27 times with Emanuele Canonica; Rory Underwood improved on professional partner Simon Yates 26 times in their score of 29 under; Neels Els, father of Ernie, 13 times in their 27 under; and Ian Botham also 13 times in a 24-under partnership with Ian Woosnam.

Guardian Service

(Brit unless stated, Irish in bold, par 72)

269 - Stephen Gallacher (won playoff at first extra hole, 645,162) 70 66 66 67, Graeme McDowell (NIre, €430,105) 62 72 67 68.

270 - I Poulter 69 67 65 69, L Donald 66 65 68 71.

272 - L Westwood 71 65 69 67, D Howell 65 65 71 71.

274 - F Couples (US) 70 66 69 69, E Els (Rsa) 68 68 68 70.

275 - M Siem (Ger) 73 66 67 69, R Green (Aus) 70 66 73 66, N O'Hern (Aus) 71 69 67 68.

276 - A Cabrera (Arg) 69 66 69 72, J Bickerton 71 67 66 72, B Davis 72 67 70 67, A Scott (Aus) 68 67 74 67, R Muntz (Ned) 73 63 69 71, M Foster 72 66 67 71.

277 - P Price 70 73 68 66, P Senior (Aus) 70 68 67 72, M Tunnicliff 73 68 69 67, V Singh (Fij) 68 70 69 70, I Woosnam 73 66 66 72.

278 - E Romero (Arg) 70 71 71 66, J Kingston (Rsa) 65 72 69 72, R Sterne (Rsa) 66 68 75 69, R Goosen (Rsa) 65 72 69 72, C Montgomerie 68 67 72 71, M Lafeber (Ned) 72 70 70 66.

279 - N Green (Aus) 70 65 73 71, S Dyson 69 68 73 69, D Robertson 70 70 70 69, M Ilonen (Fin) 71 69 71 68, B Rumford (Aus) 71 67 68 73.

280 - B Dredge 70 70 71 69, J-M Olazabal (Spa) 68 74 68 70, E Canonica (Ita) 70 72 66 72, Darren Clarke (NIre, €26,322) 72 69 66 73, S Kjeldsen (Den) 74 69 69 68, P Lonard (Aus) 65 71 71 73, A Wall 72 70 68 70, T Immelman (Rsa) 69 68 71 72, G Owen 69 68 72 71, D Lynn 73 69 68 70.

281 - M Fraser (Aus) 70 67 67 77, RJ Derksen (Ned) 69 70 69 73, J Randhawa (Ind) 70 73 69 69, S Dodd 69 69 74 69, J Donaldson 69 65 73 74, L Oosthuizen (Rsa) 67 65 79 70, M Maritz (Rsa) 69 69 71 72, G Brand Jnr 67 72 71 71, P Casey 70 70 69 72, S Khan 71 70 68 72.

282 - R Beem (US) 71 65 70 76, T Moore (Rsa) 72 69 71 70, R Russell 72 72 67 71, G Havret (Fra) 67 71 74 70, D Park 73 67 71 71, S Drummond 73 68 69 72, A Forsyth 70 69 73 70, MA Martin (Spa) 71 71 70 70, L-W Zhang (Chn) 74 68 70 70.

283 - Paul McGinley (Ire, €8,903) 72 67 73 71, P Hedblom (Swe) 68 72 72 71, J Dawes (Aus) 71 66 70 76, T Levet (Fra) 68 72 71 72, S Scahill (Nzl) 69 68 72 74.

284 - G Orr 71 68 73 72 285 S Yates 70 70 71 74, A Singh (Ind) 71 71 70 73.

287 - P O'Malley (Aus) 69 72 71 75.

288 - B Kennedy (Aus) 69 74 69 76.

290 - S Struver (Ger) 70 71 71 78.

Winning Team: Fred Couples and Craig Heatley -37.