Jeff Maggert, 13 times a runner-up in his career, finally grabbed his second victory yesterday and with it earned himself a $1 million jackpot. The 35-year-old, available at 80 to 1 at the start of the week, beat fellow American Andrew Magee by holing a 20-foot chip at the second extra hole of his final in the Andersen Consulting Matchplay championship at La Costa near San Diego yesterday.

In a match watched by only a tiny fraction of the crowd that would have been drawn if top seeds Tiger Woods and David Duval had clashed, 24th seed Maggert recovered from three down, just as he had in his semi-final victory over Steve Pate.

Magee, ranked 50th of the 64 players who began the event, recovered from the loss of the opening two holes to lead by three after 20.

Maggert then had a hat-trick of successes to square, and, after bogeying the 24th to fall behind again, really let his man off the hook at the next. Magee hooked into the lake off the tee, but he three-putted and it was halved in bogey fours.

He made amends with a 30-footer on the 28th to level, but Magee got back in front by getting up and down from sand for birdie at the long 30th.

Once more Maggert came back, holing a 10-footer at the next, and on the final green he had a slightly shorter putt for the title, but the ball did not break as much as he hoped.

His disappointment at that, however, was soon forgotten. As his ball circled the cup two holes later, and then dropped, this mild-mannered man leapt into the air in triumph.

"A million dollars is a lot of money - more than I've ever earned in a single season - but it's insignificant right now," he said.

"Winning the tournament means a lot more. Gosh, what a week. It seems like I've been here a month."

He had to play 127 holes to become champion and along the way knocked out world number one Woods.

That, in fact, was the only time he did not have to go the full distance - or beyond - to win.

Magee's compensation for missing out on what would have been his fifth US Tour victory was plentiful - a cheque for over £306,000, half the first prize.

Paris-born and with Scottish and Irish ancestors, Magee's expectations of the week were such that when he reached the semi-finals he had to go into a shop and buy some more golf socks.

"I didn't expect to be here this long," he said.

"I packed for the LA Open and maybe halfway through this week."

Clearly his confidence was rising, though - he purchased two pairs at $10 each - and by coming from three down after three to beat John Huston 3 and 1 to reach the final, he needed them.

Whereas Maggert said he was more interested in winning than the money, Magee, who lists among his special interests whistling, stated unequivocally: "I like money. It's the motivating factor in this tournament."

"It's a big deal and I'd like to thank Greg Norman for stepping up and saying he was going to start a World Tour. This is the culmination."

Maggert added: "It's a mental grind. Each match is like the Sunday afternoon of a normal tournament."

In the third place play-off, John Huston beat Steve Pate 5 and 4, being six-under-par in the process. He earned £245,474 and Pate £184,105.