Padraig Harrington was defeated by veteran Englishman Roger Chapman in a sudden-death play-off in the Brazil Rio de Janeiro 500 Years Open title yesterday. Both players were bidding to end a sequence of second places but it was Chapman (41) who produced the surprise victory after six second places in his career, to take the £110,000 first prize at the second play-off hole.

Harrington's 70 left the pair on 18-under-par, a stroke better than Jose Coceres of Argentina, with another Argentine, Jorge Berendt and Sweden's Robert Karlsson taking third place three shots behind.

Chapman's rousing final round 65, seven-under-par, hauled him alongside an indifferent Harrington, allowing him to close a five-stroke deficit he faced at the beginning of the final round.

As Chapman flourished in the final round, running up six birdies in the first 11 holes to target Harrington who led the field by two at the start of play, needed to hole a testing five-footer to even make the play-off.

But Harrington looked to have ended his own frustrating run of second places, six in 11 months, when Chapman drove into water at the first sudden-death hole. Chapman salvaged a bogey, though, and when Harrington three-putted the drama continued.

At the next extra hole, it was Harrington's turn to find the stream but Chapman composed himself to split the fairway and find the green for par to his opponents bogey, and victory in his 19th year on tour.

Chapman was on the point of giving up at the end of last season when he lost his tour card. Then the tragedy of Payne Stewart changed his mind.

"When I lost my card I thought my whole world had fallen apart," explained the winner.

"I had decided I wasn't going to go to tour school and I would take another job, something else in golf.

"But then Payne Stewart died. He wanted to play golf and couldn't and I could play golf but wouldn't. I took a serious look at myself and went to tour school and got my card back."