GOLF ROUNDUP : Price Wins When Elkington Misses 3-Footer

Nick Price was presented with a victory he didn’t expect Sunday when Steve Elkington missed a three-foot putt in a playoff for the title in the Texas Open at San Antonio.

“It never entered my mind he might miss it,” Price said. “I was pulling on my glove and going to the next tee. I was stunned.”

Elkington, who will be Price’s partner in an unofficial team tournament later this year, was shocked but quickly regained his composure after the three-putt bogey on the second extra hole.

“That’s what golf is, and that’s what makes it dramatic,” he said.

The victory was the second of the year for Price, the PGA champion, and enabled him to become golf’s fourth $1-million winner of the season. The fifth victory of his career on the American tour was worth $162,000 and enabled Price to join Fred Couples, Davis Love III and John Cook as $1-million winners.

Couples has $1,268,188, Love $1,157,630, Cook $1,122,491 and Price $1,092,659.

All four will be among the 30 men competing for a $360,000 first prize next week in the season-ending, $2-million Tour Championship in Pinehurst, N.C.

Price, who trailed most of the day, birdied three of the last four holes of regulation play and compiled a final-round five-under-par 66.

Elkington, playing in the final twosome with Price, shot 65 and tied for the lead at 263, 21 under par on the Oak Hills Country Club course.

Both had two-putt birdies on the par-five 10th hole, the first of the playoff.

“I dodged a bullet there,” Price said after Elkington, an Australian living in the United States, missed a six-foot eagle attempt that would have won it.

And Price dodged still another on the the next playoff hole, the 367-yard, par-four 17th.

Each had a second-shot wedge to the green. Price got his about six feet from the flag and Elkington was about two feet farther away.

Elkington ran his birdie attempt about three feet beyond the flag.

Price missed his birdie putt but tapped in for a par and victory.

David Edwards, Corey Pavin and Jeff Maggert were four shots behind in a tie for third at 267.

David Feherty of Northern Ireland made four birdies on the front nine and shot a five-under-par 67 to win the Madrid Open by four strokes over Mark McNulty of Zimbabwe.

Feherty, who was breaking in a new set of clubs, finished with a total of 272, 16 under par, as McNulty, the third-round leader, struggled to a 73.

Eammon Darcy of Ireland and Eduardo Romero of Argentina shot 69s to finish at 278 and shared third place with Colin Montgomerie of Scotland and Ronan Rafferty of Ireland.

Feherty, a Ryder Cup player for the European team in 1991, earned $106,700 for winning his fifth European title and first in more than a year.