A lesson from his 10-year-old son and a putter he had threatened with expulsion dragged Craig Parry from the brink of defeat to one of the best wins of his career at Royal Melbourne.

After coming down the stretch shot-for-shot with Western Australia's Nick O'Hern, Parry won the Heineken Classic in a playoff he seamed destined to lose.

The two had finished the tournament together at 14-under par and when O'Hern's second shot at the first playoff hole settled less than three metres from the flag and Parry's dropped into a greenside bunker, the result seemed certain.

But with the inspiration of his son Ryan to guide him, Parry rolled in a five metre putt to stay alive.

And then he had to do much the same thing three more times.

"That was bloody hard work," Parry said.

"At every hole I thought I was going to lose."

But each time, Parry relived the rounds of golf he has been playing with his son - and each time it saved him.

"I have been playing with my son and he's such a good putter," he said.

"When I had my putts for pars and saves, I thought 'just do what Ryan would do'.

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