Phil Price produced his best Open Championship finish at Royal St George's in Sandwich yesterday - and then amazingly declared that he wished he could have pulled out of the tournament at the beginning of the week due to exhaustion.

"I was absolutely shattered and would love to have withdrawn but did not seriously consider doing so as it was the British Open," said the 36-year-old Bassaleg-based Ryder Cup star.

"I was done in on Thursday but then had a good night's sleep and felt great on Friday morning and the last three days were simply wonderful,"added Price who has enjoyed the most incredible three weeks of his career, winning the European Open,finishing joint runner-up in the Scot-tish Open and tied for 10th spot at Sandwich.

His earnings during that period have amounted to only just short of a staggering £600,000 and he will be looking for more in the Nissan Irish Open at Portmarnock this week.

Price (pictured) closed with a two-over-par 73 to add to his earlier scores of 74.72 and 69 for a 72-hole total of 288 - four over par - finishing just five strokes behind shock winner Ben Curtis, the 26-year-old from Ohio in the States who only got in the Open by coming joint 13th in the Western Open.

But Price's Open almost came to a grinding halt on Saturday night when he came within an ace of being disqualified on a technicality soon after Mark Roe and Jesper Parnevik were both thrown out for marking the wrong scorecards having failed to exchange their cards on the first tee.

That almost happened to Price as well but his playing partner Stuart Appleby spotted the error before they left the recorder's hut and it was corrected. "It was fortunate,"said Price.

The Pontypridd-born hero went out in two-under-par 34 yesterday to move to level par and only one stroke off the pace and at that stage there were dreams of Wales having their first-ever Open Champion.

Price had carded four birdies on his way to the turn and looked good but bogeys on 11 and 12 rocked him a little and when he drove into rough at the 16th and slumped to a double bogey six it was obvious he was not going to be holding the Claret Jug but was still heading for a highly-creditable finish.

"I was really quite happy with the way I played today. I had a plan and I executed it well although of course I am a bit disappointed with the double bogey and the finish.

"I changed my swing during the winter and that seems to have made all the difference to me and I had not been putting that well but that has come back now and I feel confident,"said Price who will take a week off after the Irish Open before heading to the States for a series of tournaments including the US PGA.

Welsh legend Ian Woosnam had a miserable weekend finishing at the foot of the halfway survivors with an aggregate of 303 - 19 over par - after rounds of 80 and 75 but he said afterwards: "19 over is not great but it's better playing in it and better than someone who has not made the cut."