Tiger Woods after winning the WGC Championship in San Francisco on Sunday. Woods parred the second extra hole to win the sudden death play-off against John Daly. (Reuters)

San Francisco: John Daly missed a three-foot putt on the second play-off hole to gift Tiger Woods his fourth WGC-American Express Championship crown on Sunday.

India’s Jyoti Randhawa carded a five-over 75 to finish 51st with a nine-over 289. The former Asian Tour No. 1 earned $40,500 that will be sufficient enough to lock up his card on the European Tour for the 2006 season.

Randhawa began with a bogey on 10th and a double bogey on the 12th saw him three-over after three holes. He also bogeyed the 15th and 18th, but birdied the 16th to turn at four-over.

On the back nine, he birdied the third and fourth to make up some ground, but a triple on the sixth saw him go to five-over for the day.

Daly’s howler on the par-four 16th provided an anti-climactic finish to a gripping afternoon of cut-and-thrust golf as two of the biggest draws on the PGA Tour duelled for supremacy at a sun-drenched Harding Park golf course.

The American duo had completed the 72 holes of regulation play on 10-under-par 270, Woods firing a three-under 67 and Daly closing with a 69.

“The last thing you want to see is that happen,” world No. 1 Woods said after securing his 10th WGC individual title. “We should be going on to 17, it would have been fun for both of us.

“I feel so bad for JD. You never want to win a golf tournament that way, you want to go out and earn it. He was the man to catch and I was just fortunate to get into a play-off. It shouldn’t end like that. I just felt so bad because he played so well all week.”

With his sixth victory of 2005, Woods secured a winner’s cheque of $1.3 million and moved closer to Vijai Singh’s single season-record of $10.9 million set last year.

Woods has won $9.9 million from 19 events.

Daly began the final day with a one-shot cushion over Britain’s Colin Montgomerie but the battle for the title came down to a two-way fight with Woods.

After scrapping his way to an outward nine of even par, US Masters and British Open champion Woods roared into a share of the lead with three consecutive birdies from the par-five 10th.

Daly, however, responded by chipping in from 55 feet on 13 to regain control.

The twice major winner, bidding for his sixth PGA Tour title, forged two strokes clear when Woods bogeyed 14 but Daly faltered with a bogey at the par-three 17th before the tournament went into extra holes.

“I know Tiger didn’t want to win that way, and I certainly didn’t want to lose that way,” Daly said. “He probably would have rather won with a chip-in or birdie.

“He’s a champion and he’s won so many golf tournaments. I was probably feeling a bit more heat than he was. Like I said, you just hate to lose that way. It’s very disappointing.”

Montgomerie, chasing his first PGA Tour title, bogeyed the last for a 70 to slip back into a share of third place at eight under with Spaniard Sergio Garcia (69) and Swede Henrik Stenson (68).

World No. 2 Singh, American David Toms and Britons David Howell and Graeme McDowell all finished five shots back at five-under 275.