"Wild Thing" Daly rocks St Andrews
(Allsport)

Reformed alcoholic John Daly, the ``Wild Thing'' of golf who threatened never to return to the Open after his first unhappy visit three years ago, today won the title in astonishing fashion at St Andrews.

Daly, twice banned from the American tour and one of the most controversial figures ever to pick up a club, achieved his second major title after a play-off with Italian Costantino Rocca.

After making a total hash of a chip, Rocca incredibly holed a 60ft putt from the Valley of Sin to force the play-off, the pair finishing on the six-under-par total of 282, one ahead of Yorkshireman Steve Bottomley, American Mark Brooks and overnight leader Michael Campbell.

Rocca lay on the ground crying at the enormity of what he had done but over the four extra holes - only the second time the format has been used - he could not produce any more inspiration.

He three-putted the first and Daly made a 40-footer for birdie at the second. Then, when they crossed to the 17th hole, Rocca, who earlier saved a great four there from off the road, needed three attempts to get out of the Road Bunker.

He took seven to Daly's controlled par four and was five behind. A birdie at the last merely narrowed the gap, and Daly was celebrating all the way down the hole.

So 1991 US PGA champion Daly, last at Muirfield in 1992 and again at Turnberry last year, won a trophy that it looked as if he might have thrown away.

Three ahead with three to play, Daly's approach to the 382-yard 16th just failed to climb the ridge at the front of the green and from there he three-putted.

The Road Hole 17th is the toughest hole in golf, even to a man with Daly's power and has provided some of the most memorable moments in Open history. Now it provided some more.

Daly drove into the left rough then hit his second shot under the lip of the cavernous Road Bunker. Yesterday, Campbell played a miracle shot to 18 inches but the American, not daring to take on that shot, splashed out 45 feet left of the flag and two-putted for another bogey.

His lead was down to one and, again not daring to use his driver down the 354-yard 18th because he feared he may smash it out of bounds, he went with a one-iron.

His pitch stopped 25 feet past the flag and when he two-putted for a par he had to sit and wait to see if it was good enough.

Bottomley, who qualified for the championship by holing a nine-foot putt in a play-off at Ladybank last Monday, was already in the clubhouse having shot a 69 which must rank as the round of his career.

Australian Steve Elkington needed to finish par-birdie to catch Daly but went up against the wall on the 17th and could not save his four.

So it was left to Campbell and Rocca. Campbell had to eagle the last to tie, and drove the green but left himself a 65-footer which he did not give a chance.

Rocca had bounced off the wall at the 17th back onto the road but putted the ball through the bank of rough and saw it roll up to five feet away.

When the putt went in he had to birdie the last and, when he totally duffed his chip, it looked all over. But it was not, and the image of him lying flat out on the ground crying and banging the turf with his hands long after the putt dropped is sure to be seen time and time again.

The American's pairing with South African Ernie Els was always likely to produce excitement but it was nearly all provided by Daly.

He made an 18-footer at the fourth then holed from eight feet at the seventh and 15 feet on the 178-yard eighth to overtake Campbell, who started falling back at the fifth.

At the ninth, Daly hooked into gorse but an indication that it may be his day came when the ball finished in the clear on a path. He came up short of the green but from 70-odd feet rolled a putt up to four feet and made it for an outward 33.

When he started for home with four pars and Campbell was bunkered at the short 11th and bogeyed again, the gap was three.

At that point, the New Zealander had fallen back into a share of second place with Brooks, Bottomley and Elkington.

Bottomley turned in 34 and started for home with five pars before making a 20ft birdie at the 15th.

He knew then he had a chance of the most astonishing victory in living memory and the dream stayed alive with a seven-foot par-saving putt on the 16th after his approach bounded through.

The former England schools champion, who has used a camper van to travel the European tour in a bid to cut costs, hit his second into the Road Bunker at the dreaded 17th, came out well to 10 feet but did not get the line or pace right of the putt and fell back to four under.

However, at the last he putted through the Valley of Sin to within four feet and made it for the fifth birdie of a round he will remember forever.

Brooks cut the gap to two with birdies at the 14th and 15th but then drove into the tiny Deacon Sime bunker - which lurks behind the Principal's Nose cluster and is one of the most penal traps on the whole course - off the next tee.

The 34-year-old Texan had to splash out sideways, and with a wayward third double bogeyed.

The event was in Daly's hands again, but Rocca kept the drama going to the end - and beyond.

Final collated totals and four-round scores in the 124th Open championship at the Old Course, St Andrews (GB and Ire unless stated): (x) denotes amateur)

282 J Daly (US) 67 71 73 71, C Rocca (Italy) 69 70 70 73 (Daly won after four-hole play-off, wins £125,000; Rocca £100,000)

283 S Bottomley 70 72 72 69, M Brooks (US) 70 69 73 71, M Campbell (NZ) 71 71 65 76 (£65,666 each)

284 V Singh (Fiji) 68 72 73 71, S Elkington (Aus) 72 69 69 74 (£40,500 each)

285 M James 72 75 68 70, B Estes (US) 72 70 71 72, C Pavin (US) 69 70 72 74 (£33,333 each)

286 P Stewart (US) 72 68 75 71, B Ogle (Aus) 73 69 71 73, S Torrance 71 70 71 74, E Els (SA) 71 68 72 75 (£26,000 each)

287 G Norman (Aus) 71 74 72 70, R Allenby (Aus) 71 74 71 71, B Crenshaw (US) 67 72 76 72, P-U Johansson (Swe) 69 78 68 72, B Faxon (US) 71 67 75 74

288 P Mitchell 73 74 71 70, D Duval (US) 71 75 70 72, A Coltart 70 74 71 73, B Lane 72 73 68 75

289 L Janzen (US) 73 73 71 72, (x) S Webster 70 72 74 73, B Langer (Ger) 72 71 73 73, J Parnevik (Swe) 75 71 70 73, M Calcavecchia (US) 71 72 72 74, B Glasson (US) 68 74 72 75, K Tomori (Jap) 70 68 73 78

290 R Drummond 74 68 77 71, J M Olazabal (Spain) 72 72 74 72, D Frost (SA) 72 72 74 72, H Sasaki (Jap) 74 71 72 73, J Huston (US) 71 74 72 73, P Jacobsen (US) 71 76 70 73, D Clarke 69 77 70 74, D Feherty 68 75 71 76, T Watson (US) 67 76 70 77

291 S Ballesteros (Spain) 75 69 76 71, W Bennett 72 74 73 72, P Mickelson (US) 70 71 77 73, M McNulty (Zimb) 67 76 74 74, N Faldo 74 67 75 75, B Watts (US) 72 71 73 75, (x) G Sherry 70 71 74 76, J Cook (US) 69 70 75 77, N Price (Zimb) 70 74 70 77

292 I Woosnam 71 74 76 71, A Forsbrand (Swe) 70 74 75 73, M O'Meara (US) 72 72 75 73, T Nakajima (Jap) 73 72 72 75, B Claar (US) 71 75 71 75, K Green (US) 71 72 73 76

293 J Gallagher Jnr (US) 69 76 75 73, P O'Malley (Aus) 71 73 74 75, R Claydon 70 74 71 78

294 P Senior (Aus) 71 75 78 70, P Broadhurst 73 72 76 73, D Cooper 71 76 74 73, E Herrera (Col) 74 72 73 75, T Kite (US) 72 76 71 75, P Lawrie 73 71 74 76, M Gates 73 73 72 76, R Floyd (US) 72 74 72 76, J Leonard (US) 73 67 77 77, D Gilford 69 72 75 78

295 P Baker 70 74 81 70, J Maggert (US) 75 70 78 72, J Lomas 74 73 75 73, F Nobilo (NZ) 70 71 80 74, G Player (SA) 71 73 77 74, O Karlsson (Swe) 71 76 73 75, M Hallberg (Swe) 68 76 75 76, S Hoch (US) 74 72 73 76, G Hallberg (US) 72 74 72 77, J Rivero (Spain) 70 72 75 78, (x) T Woods (US) 74 71 72 78

296 R Kawagishi (Jap) 72 76 80 68, P Burke (US) 75 72 78 71, J Nicklaus (US) 78 70 77 71, B Lohr (US) 76 68 79 73, J Sandelin (Swe) 75 71 77 73, S Lyle 71 71 79 75, S Lowery (US) 69 74 76 77, D Robertson 71 73 74 78, J Haas (US) 76 72 70 78

297 M A Jimenez (Spain) 75 73 76 73, M Davis 74 71 76 76, J Delsing (US) 72 75 73 77, E Romero (Arg) 74 74 72 77, G Sauers (US) 69 73 75 80, W Riley (Aus) 70 72 75 80

298 J Hawksworth 73 74 75 76, B Longmuir 72 76 72 78

299 L Westwood 71 72 82 74, J Coceres (Arg) 71 76 78 74

300 S Burnell 72 76 75 77, D Love III (US) 70 78 74 78

301 (x) G Clark 71 76 80 74

302 D Pooley (US) 76 71 80 75, M Nichols 75 68 78 81

303 P Linhart (Spain) 72 75 77 79