Wales Open:Bradley Dredge's dream of winning his home Wales Open turned into a 10-minute nightmare at Celtic Manor yesterday.
Two weeks after losing the Irish Open in a play-off to Padraig Harrington, Dredge was in sight of making perfect amends - and becoming €369,000 richer - when he stood on the last tee one shot ahead.
No Welsh player has lifted the trophy, but when South African Richard Sterne in the group ahead sank a five-foot birdie to complete a brilliant, five-under-par inward 29, Dredge suddenly had to par to force another play-off.
However, for the second day running his drive failed to carry the right-hand bunker, he came up way short of the green by catching too much sand and then he lipped out from six feet.
"I really feel this is a kick in the nuts," said the 33-year-old after the most crushing bogey of his career.
And there was a piece of bad news to follow. By finishing in a four-way tie for second place, rather than a two-way share, he will just miss out on earning an exemption into next month's US Open Championship through the world's top 50.
As with the US Open, which he has still to play in, Dredge has controversially decided not to compete in the 36-hole qualifier at Sunningdale on July 2nd, but there are various other ways in.
Sterne is the one who is no longer searching for a place at Carnoustie. Third in last week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth - he was the one to suffer last-green agony there - the 25-year-old is now into the game's top 40 for the first time.
"Fantastic - that saves me playing 36 holes of qualifying," he said.
The two of them had both produced superb fightbacks after looking as if they might become also-rans in the title race.
Sterne birdied four of the last five holes for a 65 and 13-under-par total of 263 on the par 69 Roman Road lay-out.
Dredge, joint overnight leader, fell four adrift by covering the first eight holes in a desperately disappointing two over, but then birdied the ninth and 10th and had three more in a row from the 15th.
After playing a 30-yard bunker shot to four feet on the long 16th to make it a five-way tie at the top, he produced an even better approach to the difficult 17th and with a seven-foot putt led on his was own for the first time.
There was to be no happy ending, however.
"I thought I needed a par to win and I thought I had carried the bunker on the last," he said after his bogey had dropped him into a tie with Danes Soren Kjeldsen and Mads Vibe-Hastrup and also Singapore's Mardan Mamat, who closed with a best-of-the-week 62.
"When I was walking up to my pitch my caddie told me I had to get up and down. I hit a good pitch, but missed the putt.
"Tension? There's always tension over a six-footer. There was a lot of tension over all the putts today.
"I didn't play well until the ninth, but then I started getting the ball closer.
"It was nice to see that the crowd stayed with me when I was four behind. I knew I needed to do something and I was pleased to get the run going.
"It's frustrating that it ended as it did, but I thought the tee-shot was okay. You make decisions and you hit the shots and that's all you can do."
Gary Murphy made a late charge to get right into contention, birdieing the 13th, 14th and 16th to get to 11 under par, just one behind the then leaders.
But he just missed another makeable birdie putt on the 17th to join them, and eventually had to settle for a share of sixth place. But that was worth €72,000.
Peter Lawrie had four birdies in a closing 67 to finish on six under, while Simon Thornton struggled on the final day, recording seven bogeys - four on the trot from the seventh - in a 74 that left him at the back of the field on four over par.
