Alex Čejka battled through treacherous conditions at Royal Porthcawl to beat Pádraig Harrington on the second extra hole of a play-off and win The Senior Open presented by Rolex.
The Welsh links was subjected to high winds and rain as no player was able to break par for the second day in a row, with third round leader Čejka posting a closing 76 to finish on five over for the championship and join Harrington, who posted a closing 75, in a play-off.
Both players birdied the first trip back down the par-five 18th, as Harrington’s eagle putt slipped marginally by, before 52-year-old Čejka prevailed on the next extra hole. The Irishman went through the green with his second shot before leaving his chip short of the green, meaning Cejka was able to two-putt for birdie from 25 feet and become the second German winner of the Senior Claret Jug after Bernhard Langer.
Čejka’s victory was his fourth since turning 50, with three of those wins coming at Senior Majors, following his wins at The Tradition and the Senior PGA Championship in 2021.
After picking up the Senior Claret Jug – and the €407,630 first prize – Čejka said: “I can’t believe I’m standing here with the trophy. Seeing all those great names on the trophy, and for me to be holding it now, is surreal. It’s been a long and very tough week, especially the last two days with the conditions that we all faced. At times it was almost impossible to hit the shots that you wanted and it was hard to keep your balance in 40mph crosswinds. especially on the greens.
“Although I was born in Germany, and played a lot of my golf on the European Tour for many years, I’ve been in the States for 20 years now and have got used to playing in the sunshine and perfect weather and I kind of forgot what it’s like to play in these condition and how difficult links golf can be. I didn’t play well coming in, but I managed to make a few good par saves. I didn’t want a playoff, especially against Pádraig, but I’m just so glad it’s over and I’m glad I have the trophy.”
Losing the play-off consigned Harrington to a second successive Senior Open runner-up finish, with third spot going to Vijay Singh, who finished on seven-over. Michael Jonzon finished fourth, while Phil Archer and Phil Price shared fifth on nine over. Four-time Senior Open winner Bernhard Langer – who won at Royal Porthcawl in both 2014 and 2017 – shared seventh with Richard Green, Euan McIntosh and Jerry Kelly.