CELADNA, Czech Republic (AP) — Peter Hanson won the Czech Open after a three-way playoff Sunday with Gary Boyd and Peter Lawrie, keeping his Ryder Cup hopes alive.
The Swede won the European Tour event with an 18-foot birdie on the second extra hole - the par-4 18th.
Hanson needed a victory to have a chance of making Colin Montgomerie's European team for the Ryder Cup.
"Today was really hard," Hanson said. "I was lucky in the end, after I got off to a bad start. It feels fantastic."
Hanson led by four strokes overnight, but had a disastrous front nine that included three straight bogeys. But birdies on fifth, 10th and 16th kept him in contention and he managed a 2-over 74 to finish at 10-under 278 at the Prosper Golf Resort.
"I put myself in a great position yesterday and I'm feeling absolutely great that I managed to do it," Hanson said.
Irishman Lawrie, who started eight shots behind Hanson, had an eagle on the 10th and finished with a 66, while English rookie Boyd had a 68.
Englishman Simon Dyson - another Ryder Cup hopeful who needed a win to qualify - shot a 70 and dropped from second overnight into a share of fifth.
Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain, who co-designed the 7,155-yard course at the northeastern Czech town, tied for seventh after a 73.
Jimenez was eighth in the standings before Celadna and close to automatically making the Ryder Cup.
Jimenez won't be playing next week at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Scotland, the final event in the race for the nine automatic Europe Ryder Cup spots.
"It means so much to get in the top nine," Hanson said. "It turned out in the end that both me, Miguel and Simon Dyson, who had so much to play for, didn't play our best in the end. But I managed to scrape it round the back nine and make that birdie on 16 to get into the playoff."
Sweden's Oskar Henningsson won in Celadna in 2009, the European Tour's first year in the Czech Republic since 1997.
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