The German birdied the second extra hole to claim his third major title in the seniors after he and Harrington had finished tied on five-over-par following a final round played in miserable wet and windy conditions on the Welsh links on Sunday.

Harrington – who also finished runner-up to Darren Clarke last year – narrowly missed an eagle putt on the first extra hole and could only make par when the players returned to the 18th after duffing a chip from the back of the green.

Overnight leader Cejka began the final round with a double bogey on the 1st and dropped another shot on the 4th, but battled back to hold a two-shot lead with two holes to play.

A bogey on the 17th halved the 52-year-old's advantage and Harrington birdied the last to force extra holes.

"Wow, what a week. What a day," Cejka said at the presentation ceremony.

"It's incredible. I still can't believe that I'm here. Beating Padraig in a play-off, such a great player, but I'm glad I did it and I'm super happy."

Cejka carded a final round of 76 and Harrington returned a 75, with Y.E. Yang and Rob Labritz the only players able to match the par of 71.

"Wow, what a week. What a day. It's incredible. I still can't believe that I'm here." – Alex Cejka.

Australian Richard Green – three shots behind Cejka going into the final round – couldn't challenge for the prestigious title, with a quadruple bogey eight at the 1st hole effectively ending his chances immediately.

He ended with a seven-over-par 78 to finish in a four-way tie for seventh at 10-over for the championship.

Not a single player broke par over the weekend and the five-over total required for a place in the play-off was the same as the halfway cut.