John Cook claimed the £200,000 first prize in the Byron Nelson Classic at the TPC at Colinas in Texas after Freddie Couples paid dearly for refusing to play safe.

Tied with Cook on 15 under par as he stood on the tee at the short 17th, Couples gambled by going for the flag, which was tucked in close behind the water. His tee-shot was dead on line but a crucial yard short, and the ball crashed off the rocks and into the hazard.

While a bogey would have left him in with a chance to force a play-off, Couples compounded the disaster by three-putting for a triple bogey six.

Birr's Richard Coughlan followed up his four over par 74 on Saturday with an equally disappointing 73 yesterday to finish on five over par.

The weekend has once again proved his Achilles heel. Having made the cut at two under par, his seven over total for the last two rounds was once again most unsatisfactory - despite the fact that the Byron Nelson is the eighth tournament in which Coughlan has made the cut.