Orr Strikes Gold In Portugal
Gary Orr made a 12-foot eagle putt at the final hole to win the $992,000 Portuguese Open Sunday for his first European title.
The Scot finished with a 69 for a 13-under total of 275, over the par-72, 6,789-yard Meridien course. Phillip Price of Wales had a 70 for 276.
Orr and Price started the round tied for the lead. Price took the lead with birdies at two of the first three holes and came to the 18th with a one-shot advantage.
There, Orr hit a 2-iron to set up the eagle, while Price found the left rough and was forced to lay up. Price then missed a 25-foot birdie putt which would have forced a playoff.
"It's euphoria, an eagle at the 18th to win at last," Orr said. "You hope, you keep plugging away. You don't know what you're capable of until you do it. "
Orr, a Scot now living in England, appeared to have lost his chance when he bogeyed 17.
Orr just missed winning titles twice in the past. He was runner-up to Lee Westwood at last year's Dutch Open, and Colin Montgomerie birdied the 72nd hole to edge Orr at the 1999 British PGA.
"What I did today, it's happened to me a few times," Orr said.
Orr received $164,000 and Price, who won this event in 1994 for his only European victory, collected $109,000.
Ireland's Paul McGinley (70), Zimbawe's Tony Johnstone (69) and England's Brian Davis (a course record-equalling 65) tied for third at 279.
Ian Woosnam, the 1991 Masters champion, shot a 66 for 281.
Frenchman Olivier Edmond, back on Tour after a ninth-month absence because of testicular cancer and a four-month chemotherapy treatment, had a 71 for 284.
©2000 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed