NEWPORT-based Phil Price further improved his chances of making the Ryder Cup team this year when he finished joint fourth in a thrilling Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth yesterday.

Price finished five strokes behind Scottish winner Andrew Oldcorn after shooting a one under par 71 on the final day.

It earned Price a pay cheque of £84,933, and he is now in seventh place in the Order of Merit table.

Oldcorn, delighted to win as a 150/1 outsider, was trying to come back to earth today. The 41-year-old who, until hitting the £333,330 jackpot at Wentworth, had not won for six years, is now setting his sights on capturing a first Ryder Cup cap. And when he tees off in the Victor Chandler British Masters at Woburn on Thursday he knows it could be just 72 holes away. Up from 98th to seventh in the points race in one mighty leap, Oldcorn requires one more good pay-day to be part of fellow Scot Sam Torrance's team at The Belfry in September. This week's first prize is £208,330, but Oldcorn has a new rival for it following Lee Westwood's late decision to play after missing the halfway cut on Saturday.

Final totals in the Volvo PGA championship: 272 A Oldcorn 66 66 69 71 (£333,330) 274 A Cabrera (Arg) 63 71 72 68 (£222,220) 275 N Faldo 72 66 70 67 (£125,200) 277 M Gronberg (Swe) 71 69 72 65, M Campbell (Nzl) 70 70 67 70, P Price 65 69 72 71 (£84,933 each) 278 V Singh (Fij) 73 65 70 70 279 P Baker 67 72 75 65, G Orr 74 67 69 69, D Clarke 72 69 68 70 280 D Robertson 68 68 75 69, S Webster 67 68 72 73, JM Olazabal (Spa) 72 68 67 73 281 S Dyson 68 72 72 69, J Senden (Aus) 71 67 72 71, N Fasth (Swe) 69 68 69 75 282 A Wall 70 70 72 70, C Montgomerie 73 69 69 71, R Green (Aus) 73 68 70 71, P Lawrie 69 68 72 73 283 A Hansen (Den) 71 70 72 70, I Woosnam 71 68 73 71, G Emerson 70 69 71 73, M Lundberg (Swe) 67 72 70 74, S Leaney (Aus) 70 64 74 75 Leading positions in the European tour Order of Merit: 1 A Cabrera (Arg) £532,036, 2 M Campbell (Nzl) £505,406, 3 A Oldcorn (Sco) £356,392, 4 P Fulke (Swe) £353,625, 5 P Harrington (Irl) £350,815, 6 E Els (Rsa) £347,994, 7 P Price (Wal) £280,082, 8 T Bjorn (Den) £265,236, 9 JM Olazabal (Spa) £246,980, 10 N O'Hern (Aus) £241,322 11 R Karlsson (Swe) £240,654, 12 H Stenson (Swe) £229,888, 13 P McGinley (Irl) £222,876, 14 J Rose (Eng) £190,077, 15 M McNulty (Zim) £176,807, 17 MA Jimenez (Spa) £162,757, 18 N Faldo (Eng) £159,856, 19 S Kjeldsen (Den) £154,873, 20 A Coltart (Sco) £154,233.