Angelo Que of the Philippines claimed a thrilling play-off win over Chris Rodgers for his third Asian Tour title.

The 31-year-old Que outlasted a battling Rodgers with a par at the first extra hole after both players finished tied on six-under-par 278 in regulation play at the Seri Selangor Golf Club.

Thailand’s Thaworn Wiratchant finished third, one shot out of the play-off, after a 68 which included a costly double bogey on his last hole while Australians Scott Barr and Brad Smith shared fourth place with Filipino Juvic Pagunsan on 280.

Taking a one-shot lead into the final round, Que, whose last victory was at the 2008 Philippine Open, carded a 70 in the final round and was caught by playing partner Rodgers, who closed with a 69.

But the Englishman was forced to settle for his fourth runner-up finish in Asia after making mistakes in the play-off to allow Que to snatch victory and the winner’s cheque of US$59,717.

“It feels great. First time I won was in 2004 and then I waited for four years for my second win. Now I’ve just waited for two years for my third. It’s good and a great feeling. Hopefully I’ll keep winning and I won’t stop,” said Que.

“Three is a charm. Winning a third time tells you that you can really do it no matter what. You just need to have the right mind set and believe in yourself that you can do it.”

Despite dropping a bogey on 18 in regulation play to fall into a play-off, the bubbly Filipino was calm and collected and revealed that a 20-foot birdie conversion on the 16th hole which drew him level with Rodgers was pivotal.

“16 was the key. After I holed my bogey putt in regulation, I was so relieved and I was calmer than earlier this morning. I was happy to be in the play-off as it was just me against Chris and I wasn’t fighting against the field anymore. Chris played well but he was unlucky in the play-off,” said Que.

Rodgers, who was searching for a second victory after his 2006 Pakistan Open victory, took the defeat in his stride. “Finishing second is never fun. It was neck and neck and it was done in good spirit and good fun. We were battling away in a good way as we’ve known each other for a long time. It is a good tournament for me but a disappointing finish,” said Rodgers.

He found the greenside trap from a poor lie and then left his third shot well short of the pin and took three putts for a six. Que, who split the fairway with a monster drive, had the luxury of a two-putt for his victory.

Rodgers said: “It’s a tricky pin on the last and you have to hit it on the right hand of the fairway which I did but caught a lousy lie. I couldn’t do much and just pushed it into the bunker. I was trying to stop it at the top (of the ridge) and let the ball roll down but put too much spin and was half-hearted after that. But good for Angelo as he’s cool and he’s a worthy winner.”

Thaworn, bidding for a record equalling 12th Asian Tour victory, charged up the leaderboard with five birdies, including four in a row, on his back nine but stumbled badly with several poor shots which included one that landed in the hazard on 18.

“I hit it too much right with the driver and then found it difficult from there on. I’ve always said that this course was a tough one,” said the Thai veteran.

Airil Rizman finished as the leading Malaysian in tied 14th place after closing with a 74 for a 284 total.

Adrian Sutil says he has yet to decide his future amidst rumours that he is in line for a 2011 Renault race-seat.

In recent weeks, the Force India driver has been rumoured to be on Renault’s short list for next season should they opt to replace rookie racer Vitaly Petrov.

However, for now Sutil is refusing to say where his future may rest, wary that a wrong decision could prove costly.

“I’m happy at Force India but I want to move forward,” the German driver told grandprix.com “The top teams are pretty much closed, so it’s hard to find a better seat than here.

“Scoring points regularly was my goal for this season and next year I want to improve again, whether it’s somewhere else, or here.”

He added: “It’s a tough decision to make right now.

“If you are signing up for something like three years and you’re not confident the team is better, then you shouldn’t do it.”

Siddikur Rahman became the first Bangladeshi golfer to win on the Asian Tour after winning the Brunei Open in a play-off.

The 25-year-old held his nerve to edge out Jbe Kruger in a play-off to win at the Empire Hotel and Country Club.

Starting the day tied for the lead with Ben Leong, Siddikur carded a four-under-par 67 to finish 16-under. However, a bogey at the last when he missed a 15-foot putt proved costly as Kruger went one better with a 66 to force the play-off.

But there was no repeat as Siddikur parred the 18th, the first extra hole, to take the title after Kruger missed his putt from 10 feet.

“It is very exciting. I’m the first Bangladeshi to play on the Asian Tour and in the two years that I’m on Tour, I have won a tournament. It is unbelievable,” said Siddikur.

“I didn’t expect to win. Thankfully, everything in my game clicked and I was able to win. I hope to inspire more people to take up the game of golf in Bangladesh. This is a good victory for me and my country.”

Kruger’s 66 contained seven birdies but a double-bogey at the par-four 11th ultimately cost the South African dear, although he was relatively satisfied with his efforts over the past four days.

“It is always disappointing when you lose in a play-off but to finish second is a good result in any tournament,” he said.

“I feel that I’m getting better and I’m confident of landing my first win in Asia soon.”

Juvic Pagunsan’s blistering 64 saw the Filipino claim third on 15 under par, while India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar finished fourth one shot further back and English duo Simon Griffiths and Nick Redfern ended in a tie for fifth on 13-under. Leong, meanwhile, fell into a tie for 10th following a disappointing final round of 73.

Collated final round scores & totals

(Par: 71)

268 Siddikur (Ban) 64 67 70 67 (Siddikur won in the play-off at first extra hole), Jbe Kruger (Rsa) 66 68 68 66

269 Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 70 64 71 64

270 Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 69 68 68 65

271 Simon Griffiths (Eng) 68 68 67 68, Nick Redfern (Eng) 70 66 67 68

272 Adam Blyth (Aus) 67 68 67 70

273 Lin Wen-Tang (Tpe) 68 68 66 71, Pariya Junhasavasdikul (Tha) 70 70 65 68

274 Ben Leong (Mal) 70 64 67 73, Zhang Lian-Wei (Chn) 71 65 68 70, Darren Beck (Aus) 68 69 68 69, Atthaphon Prathummanee (Tha) 71 70 64 69

275 Anirban Lahiri (Ind) 70 67 66 72, Oscar Fraustro (Mex) 68 70 72 65

276 Unho Park (Aus) 71 70 66 69, Lee Sung (Kor) 65 74 70 67, Scott Barr (Aus) 67 74 70 65

277 Guido Van Der Valk (Ned) 68 69 69 71, Namchoak Tantipokakul (Tha) 70 68 68 71, Choengchai Panpumpo (Tha) 71 69 66 71, Hirotaro Naito (Jpn) 75 67 64 71, Jason Knutzon (USA) 69 69 71 68, Matthew Rosenfeld (USA) 68 71 72 66

278 Kunal Bhasin (Aus) 67 69 72 70, Artemio Murakami (Phi) 74 67 72 65

279 Adam Groom (Aus) 65 68 73 73, Han Seung-Su (Kor) 71 68 69 71, Peter Karmis (Rsa) 68 70 71 70, Sam Osborne (Eng) 68 74 69 68

280 Panuwat Muenlek (Tha) 66 70 71 73, Ahmad Bateman (Can) 72 65 70 73, Wisut Artjanawat (Tha) 68 71 69 72, Thaworn Wiratchant (Tha) 69 71 69 71, Brad Smith (Aus) 69 69 72 70, Iain Steel (Mal) 73 67 70 70, Mars Pucay (Phi) 70 71 70 69

281 Chan Yih-Shin (Tpe) 70 70 68 73, Baek Seuk-Hyun (Kor) 68 70 72 71, Lu Wen-Teh (Tpe) 71 70 70 70

282 Gurki Shergill (Ind) 66 72 70 74, Chinnarat Phadungsil (Tha) 73 67 69 73, David Gleeson (Aus) 70 71 70 71, Antonio Lascuna (Phi) 71 71 69 71, Jason King (Aus) 67 74 72 69, Himmat Rai (Ind) 73 68 72 69, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 69 70 75 68

283 Thammanoon Srirot (Tha) 62 71 71 79, Shaaban Hussin (Mal) 69 70 71 73, Rohan Blizard (Aus) 67 68 77 71, Kwanchai Tannin (Tha) 70 72 71 70

284 Thanyakorn Khrongpha (Tha) 69 71 70 74, Pijit Petchkasem (Tha) 71 71 70 72, Ben Fox (USA) 73 69 70 72, Chris Rodgers (Eng) 72 69 72 71, Neven Basic (Aus) 70 72 72 70, Lam Chih Bing (Sin) 72 70 74 68

285 Kim Young-Jin (Kor) 74 66 73 72, Gene Xavier Bondoc (Phi) 68 73 73 71, Marcus Both (Aus) 70 71 73 71, Young Nam (Kor) 67 75 72 71, Corey Harris (USA) 68 73 74 70, C. Muniyappa (Ind) 70 70 78 67

286 Wang Ter-Chang (Tpe) 69 71 72 74, Hsu Chia-Jen (Tpe) 70 68 76 72, Gerald Rosales (Phi) 69 70 75 72, Pasamet Pogamnerd (Tha) 70 72 72 72, P. Gunasegaran (Mal) 73 69 75 69

287 Chang Tse-Peng (Tpe) 68 72 72 75, Pavit Tangkamolprasert (Tha) 71 71 72 73, Pornsakon Tipsanit (Tha) 71 71 72 73, Blair Wilson (Aus) 70 69 76 72, Mark Purser (Nzl) 72 69 75 71

288 Richard Moir (Aus) 70 71 74 73, Poosit Supupramai (Tha) 71 71 73 73

289 Chawalit Plaphol (Tha) 71 70 72 76, Lin Wen-Hong (Tpe) 76 66 71 76

290 Zaw Moe (Mya) 70 68 77 75

291 Peter Shaw (Aus) 69 72 75 75

293 Khor Kheng Hwai (Mal) 71 71 76 75

Erik Compton hit a sublime seven-under-par opening 63 as he bids to continue a remarkable personal story.

The 30-year-old Florida native is a two-time heart transplant patient having suffered health problems since childhood.

However, he refuses to let illness get the better of him and a seven-under round saw him take a share of the first-round lead alongside fellow American Matt Every at the Greenbrier Classic golf in West Virginia.

Bogeys at the second and third did not auger well for Compton but a brilliant turnaround in fortunes saw him enjoy an excellent round, with birdies on the fourth and fifth plus a further seven.

“It was a difficult start,” Compton told www.pgatour.com. “You have to have drive it good (here). If you do, you can definitely take advantage.

“I hit some really close shots, a couple of good putts. I guess the round just kind of developed like that.”

Every’s round, which he began on the 10th, was sparked by an eagle on the par-five 12th and he consolidated with consecutive birdies on the 16th, 17th and 18th.

Compatriots George McNeill, Pat Perez and Jeff Overton were hot on their heels a shot back in a three-way tie for third after 64s.

Zimbabwean Brendon de Jonge was sharing sixth with Charles Howell, Aron Price, Matt Bettencourt and John Rollins following 65s.

Richard S. Johnson of Sweden was the leading European, tied for 11th after a 66, while popular Spaniard Sergio Garcia was two under, alongside England’s Greg Owen.

Scotland’s Martin Laird was a shot further back, while Englishman Brian Davis had a day to forget – he was four over par after carding a 74.

Tiger Woods says the Old Course at St Andrews has “been different the last three times I’ve played here.”

But the world number one could easily have been referring to the state of his game instead, and now his reputation as well, as he prepared to challenge for an unprecedented third Open victory at the Home of Golf.

In 1995, Woods was still an amateur when he finished seven over par and in a tie for 68th. By 2000 he was the world number one, winner of three major titles and about to claim number four on his way to the ‘Tiger Slam’ of holding all four major titles at once.

Five years later Woods had collected nine major titles and would go on to make it 10 at St Andrews, with Jack Nicklaus’ record tally of 18 looking certain to be broken, sooner rather than later.

However, another five years on the American remains stuck on 14 major titles and with his game and private life subject to even greater scrutiny than ever following the sex scandal which broke in November last year.

Even a comparison with just 12 months ago shows just how things have changed for the 34-year-old. Coming into Turnberry 12 months ago, Woods had won three tournaments, had not been outside the top 10 in all eight strokeplay events played, had a stroke average of 69.28 and was a collective 63 under par.

In 2010, Woods has played just six PGA Tour events and only 21 rounds, finishing fourth in the Masters and US Open but missing the cut in the Quail Hollow Championship with rounds of 74 and 79.

That was only the sixth cut missed in a professional career spanning 14 years, and the 79 just two shots less than his worst score in the paid ranks, an 81 in horrendous weather in the 2002 Open at Muirfield.

Woods has broken 70 just three times in his last 17 rounds and is 77th on the US tour money list, below the likes of Alex Prugh, Chad Collins and Derek Lamely.

Despite such statistics and missing the cut at Turnberry last year, Woods remains favourite to win the 139th Open when it gets under way tomorrow.

“I wouldn’t say I have a specific advantage (at St Andrews) because there’s a lot of guys who can hit the ball as far as I do,” Woods said at his pre-tournament press conference. “But this golf course requires placement.

“You really have to place the ball correctly. Just because it’s wide off the tee doesn’t mean you can blow it all over the place. You have to hit the ball in the correct spot and the two years that I’ve played well here, I’ve done that.”

Second favourite behind Woods is 21-year-old Rory McIlroy, who has missed the cut in the year’s first two majors and is a collective 13 over par for the two Open Championships he has played.

However, McIlroy has an excellent record over the Old Course, never shooting worse than 69 in three editions of the Dunhill Links Championship and one St Andrews Links Trophy.

Finishing third in his second event as a professional here in 2007 also saw him secure his European Tour card in a record two events, and McIlroy said: “I know going into this championship that I’ve played well around this golf course before, which gives me a lot of confidence.

“But I suppose it also brings a little bit of added pressure knowing that I’m expecting myself to play well, and I’m sure a lot of people are expecting me to play well. But if I can just think back, I have a lot of great memories from this place. Hopefully those can stand by me for the week.”

Melissa Reid leads by two shots ahead of the final round of the Turkish Airlines Open at National Golf Club in Belek, Antalya.

Reid carded six birdies and four bogeys for a four-under total as she targets her first ladies European Tour win after finishing as a runner-up four times over the last two years.

Denmark’s first-round leader Iben Tinning, who set the course record with an opening 68, carded a 76 and tied for second with Wales’ Becky Brewerton (72) on two under.

England’s Laura Davies (71) shared fourth on even par with Christel Boeljon of Holland who shot a 75.

Reid said: “This course can eat you up if you’re not careful. You’ve just got to play smart and some shots you know that you just don’t go for.

“You hit it on the right side of the green and take two putts. If you hit a good first putt, you birdie it.

“It’s a tight course. You’ve got to drive it well and you’ve got to be smart. You’ve got to play it on the right side of the fairways.

“There are a few canopies hanging over and especially for pins tomorrow, there’s going to be a few dodgy shots you’ll have to hit but you’ve just got to place yourself on the fairway. You can’t miss the fairways really at all.”

The Loughborough-based player made two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine, but was two under on the back nine. She bogeyed the 10th and 12th, but birdied four holes in a row from the 13th.

Tinning was at four under through 14 before dropping three shots over the final four holes.

Brewerton made up four places on the field, despite a few errant shots over the closing holes.

Golf’s richest event has arrived with players and fans alike keen to know the answer to three questions.

Can Tiger Woods be as bad as he was last week? Can Rory McIlroy be as good as he was last week? Can Phil Mickelson finally make it to world number one?

The Masters champion will take over at the top of the rankings if he wins the 6.2million Players Championship at Sawgrass in Florida and Woods is outside the first five.

Both look eminently possible. Mickelson was runner-up to the inspired McIlroy on Sunday, while Woods has now admitted that his personal troubles contributed to an error-ridden Friday 79 that sent him crashing out of the event by eight shots.

He has never missed two successive cuts. Despite putting five balls in water during nine holes of practice on Tuesday Woods made optimistic noises, but looked and sounded dreadfully affected by the fall-out from the revelation of his extra-marital affairs.

Mickelson, though, would not be surprised if the man who has denied him the number one spot for 244 weeks in his career bounces straight back – and nor would Ian Poulter, who plays the first two rounds with Woods.

“I think everybody was a little shocked last week,” said England’s world number six, who correctly predicted a top five finish for the American on his comeback at Augusta a month ago.

“But you can never write the number one in the world off at any stage.

“The discussion four weeks ago would have been how poor a season Mickelson had had to that point, but he has turned his year around very quickly.

“He found something in his swing and goes out and wins The Masters. I would expect Tiger to be doing something very similar.

“He needs two shots or an hour on the range to find a swing thought and all of a sudden you’re out there winning tournaments.”

McIlroy is a perfect example of that too. Down in the dumps after a second successive missed cut at Augusta the Northern Ireland youngster – who turned 21 yesterday – talked of quitting the game for a while.

But three weeks later there he was at Quail Hollow following a third round 66 with a course record 62 and beating a high-class field by four shots.

McIlroy’s confidence, after what was only his second professional win, has shot up as a result, but he issued a warning today that it does not guarantee further and greater success instantly.

“I don’t want to get myself too carried away,” he said the morning after a “birthday bash” organised by his caddie JP Fitzgerald.

“It was a great weekend. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to contend in the majors rightaway.

“I really hope that I do (next chance is next month’s US Open at Pebble Beach), but it’s a very long career. I’ve got 25-30 years to go.

“But knowing that I beat a great field on basically a major championship venue, especially with the likes of Phil and Angel (Cabrera) coming behind me, and play great golf like that down the stretch just gives me the belief that if I can do it there I can pretty much do it anywhere.”

On his debut at Sawgrass last year McIlroy managed to score only 74 and 77 and missed the cut by seven. Now he is third favourite – Woods and Mickelson jointly top the betting – for a title won by Swede Henrik Stenson and Spaniard Sergio Garcia in the last two years.

After his Masters near-miss Lee Westwood would love to follow them, although far from rating this week the sport’s “unofficial fifth major”, as it has often been dubbed, he said last week that he puts it behind the four World Championships.

The first prize of just over 1.1million would not even be his biggest pay-day. When he won the Dubai World Championship, and with it the European money list title bonus, last November he earned more than 1.6million.

Brian Davis was ruing missed chances with the putter rather than the penalty he called on himself at the Verizon Heritage.

Davis saw a maiden US PGA Tour victory elude him in South Carolina slip from his grasp at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off with Jim Furyk at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island when he made contact with a loose impediment during his backswing while playing out of a hazard area.

The Englishman notified rules officials of the infraction and was handed a two-stroke penalty, giving American world number six Furyk, who holed his par putt, his second PGA Tour title in a month.

Davis felt he should have sewn up the victory on the back nine of regulation play but was left to reflect on his bogeys at the 15th and 16th holes and a missed birdie putt on 17, although he did rally with a birdie at the last to force the play-off.

“I’ve got to learn from that and make a couple of putts on the back nine, that’s what makes a champion,” said Davis.

“It was tough coming down the stretch. It was windy today, playing really tough.

“I missed a couple of key putts at 15 and 16. The one at 15 was a good putt, 16 wasn’t a bad one, I just misread it. I had a chance on 17 as well.

“It then came down do 18, and I made an unbelievable second shot and obviously I made the putt. It was great getting in the play-off, but it was a disappointment (not to win).”

The 35-year-old Londoner also revealed that, despite challenging for victory, he had been struggling with his swing all week.

“Considering the way I felt this week, I’ve had no control over my swing, it’s been one of the weirdest weeks ever,” Davis said.

“I didn’t feel comfortable on the golf course, but was still hitting shots and still getting it done.”

Of calling the penalty on himself, Davis said there had been no dilemma.

“If I had thought I hadn’t (committed an infraction) then I wouldn’t have called it.

“I knew about the rule. When we looked at it, I didn’t think it was an issue. I thought the hole would be over the top of it.

“And obviously when I took the club away, I took it lower and obviously just grazed the thing.

“It’s one of those things where there’s a bunch where the weeds were piled up together, and it’s stuck in the ground, but it’s not fixed, it’s a loose impediment. So it’s classified as sand, it’s not actually fixed in the swing, and he (PGA rules chief Slugger White) said it was a two-shot penalty, and that’s that.”

ends

Jim Furyk has won the Verizon Heritage after Brian Davis called a penalty on himself during a sudden-death play-off in South Carolina.

Davis, with three runner-up finishes in the last four seasons, had forced the play-off at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island with a 72nd hole birdie to pull level with overnight leader Furyk.

The pair went back to the 18th tee and Davis found himself in trouble after sending his second shot off greenside rocks onto the beach, the ball resting amidst short reeds in a hazard area.

As American world number six Furyk stood over a five-foot par putt, Davis decided to play from where his ball lay for his third shot rather than take a penalty drop and leave himself a chip for par.

He chipped onto the green, but the shot proved irrelevant as Davis called a penalty on himself for touching a loose impediment with his club during his swing.

Davis informed PGA Tour rules chief Slugger White, who after consulting with colleagues, determined a two-shot penalty was in order, leaving Furyk to hole out for victory.

The tournament had not looked as if it would turn into a two-horse race with 21 players within six shots of the lead after the third round, seven of whom, including England’s Luke Donald, were just two shots behind Furyk’s mark of 10 under par at the start of the day.

Donald, without a win since the 2006 Honda Classic, was at 12 under after 10 holes having birdied the second and bogeyed the third and fourth holes, before rebounding with four birdies over the next five holes.

His inconsistency continued, however, as back-to-back bogeys followed at the par-four 11th and 12th as he fell back to 10 under.

That’s where the English Ryder Cup star remained, finishing with a 70 in a tie for third with American Bo Van Pelt, who had closed with a 69.

Americans Ricky Barnes and Kris Blanks finished on nine under alongside Camilo Villegas of Colombia in a tie for fifth place.

Australian Stuart Appleby and US rookie Rickie Fowler both fired last-day 67s to get to eight under par to tie for eighth alongside their respective compatriots Nick O’Hern (71) and Heath Slocum (72).

England’s Paul Casey, the world number seven, finished his week with a closing 69 at five under to finish in a tie for 22nd with Swedish duo Robert Karlsson and Fredrik Jacobson.

South African Trevor Immelman fell back to three under after a two-over 73, Sweden’s Carl Pettersen was on the same mark after a 74 and Martin Laird of Scotland was at two under following a final-round 74.

Greg Owen’s tournament ended in disappointment as the Englishman, who had shared the halfway lead with Furyk and Charles Howell III, shot his second over-par round of the weekend.

Owen had opened with a 66 and 69 but shot a 73 on Saturday and finished with a 76 to leave him at level par for the week.

Samantha Stosur stormed to her second WTA Tour title as she beat Vera Zvonareva 6-0 6-3 in the final of the Family Circle Cup in Charleston.

The seventh-seeded Russian never got a foothold in the match and slipped to defeat in what, at 52 minutes, was the shortest final in the tournament’s history.

Fourth seed Stosur, who is expected to return to the world’s top 10 tomorrow, said: “To be able to play that well in a final is a great feeling.

“You always hope you’ll do that, but to actually go and perform that way is very, very pleasing.”

Stosur has won her last five matches against Zvonareva and added: “Vera and I played a few weeks ago in Indian Wells and I was able to do it there too.

“Obviously I wasn’t taking anything for granted here, and I definitely had to play well.”

Zvonareva was keen to look on the bright side.

She said: “Right now I’m a little bit disappointed about the match. Overall I think it’s a good start to the clay court season though.

“It was my first clay court tournament in about two years, so I should be happy.”