Thomas Bjorn showed he should play in a Ryder Cup at Gleneagles rather than captain Europe as he won a gruelling five-hole play-off for the Johnnie Walker Championship.
The third long climb brought birdies for each of the three survivors, but on the fourth extra hole Foster’s shredded nerves finally disintegrated, a poor drive and a poorer third shot leaving him with no chance of making his par.
Coetzee, who had shot a best-of-the-day 67 to get in the play-off, made a fine birdie putt from 12 feet to equalise Bjorn’s outstanding approach.
It was not until the fifth attempt that the South African failed to match the quality of Bjorn’s seven-iron to within three feet, giving the Dane his 12th tour title.
Scotland’s Stephen Gallacher was left rueing rotten luck on the 15th fairway as he missed out on the play-off by only a shot.
Still wielding son Jack’s putter to great effect, Gallacher birdied the eighth, ninth, 13th and 14th to find himself at the eventual play-off mark of 11-under only one shot behind, but his drive at 15 finished in a horrible spot and a bogey cost him his chance.
Gallacher said: “I’d hit a good drive 330 yards but it caught a poor lie, almost casual water and there was nothing I could do but force it up the right of the green and it caught the lip of the bunker.
“It came just when I was on a bit of a roll and was definitely the turning point, but I’m pretty pleased with the way I played over the week.”
He added: “I’m not going to get myself down, I did as well as I could.”
It is the Scot’s second strong European Tour performance in a row after his third-placed finish in Ireland two weeks ago, and he is confident that the wins will come.
Gallacher said: “As long as you keep putting yourself in the mix, you’ll eventually get one. The driving’s been good, I had a new set of irons this week and the putter’s staying in the bag.”
He added: “I’ve had a trade-off with Jack, so that’s sorted, and even the pink grip’s got to stay I don’t want to mess with the feel now.”
The Dane (40) was the last man standing after a sudden-death play-off that was more like slow death five trips over the 533-yard uphill 18th of the Centenary Course before he claimed his second title in a renaissance year and a cheque for £233,330.
South African rookie George Coetzee, Pablo Larrazabal of Spain, Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and England’s “serial runner-up” Mark Foster contested the play-off with Bjorn after they all tied on 11-under aggregates of 277, with Coetzee the last to relent when the Dane’s third birdie of the play-off finally ended the day’s travails.
Bjorn said: “The way I played this week maybe I should be a player on the team in 2014, but we’ve get Medinah next year to get out of the way yet.
“It’s just a very special win for me and I can’t be more proud of the way I played in the play-off and the three birdies in a row.”
He added: “The seven-iron on the fifth play-off hole was one of the best golf shots I’ve ever hit.
“I think that Darren (Clarke) and I have shown that the over-40s can compete this year and now the aim is the top 25 and competing in the majors rather than just doing well on a whim.”
Foster was the man with most to regret, having thrown away a winning position for the fourth time this season, after the BMW International and French and Scottish opens.
This time he had a three-stroke advantage with eight to play, but a six at the last hole of regulation led to the first five-way play-off on the European Tour since 1992.
Bjorn said: “Mark’s a great guy and is having his best year on tour, and he should focus only on that.”
The Englishman led in the final round after an eagle at the second hole and saw his outright lead stretch to three shots by playing par golf through to the 12th, when the slow slide started.
The 37-year-old still reached the 72nd hole one ahead but played like he struggled with the pressure.
He pushed his drive into the trees, hacked out and left his par putt well short to give new life to the four men warming up on the range over the road more in hope than expectation.
The first hole of the play-off resulted in only the loss of Wiesberger, who had to take a penalty drop after a wild drive left, while the second saw the departure of Larrazabal, who missed a five-footer for par.
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