Padraig Harrington claimed his first European Tour title in eight years as he held off the challenge of defending champion Andy Sullivan on a dramatic final day at the Portugal Masters.
Harrington’s last triumph on Tour was his 2008 win at the US PGA Championship, and the three-time Major Champion showed all his experience under pressure with a closing bogey-free 65 to finish on 23 under.
That was one shot better than Sullivan, who also closed his week at Victoria Clube de Golfe with a 65, and two better than the semi-retired Anders Hansen and Finn Mikko Korhonen – who secured his playing privileges after starting the week 116th in the Race to Dubai.
Another player who made the leap into the all-important top 111 was Oli Fisher, whose round of 64 for an 18 under par total elevated the Englishman to 100th in the Rankings.
But there was agony for playing partner Graeme Storm, whose bogey on the last meant he missed out on 111th place by a mere €100.
In stark contrast, Harrington’s victory took his European Tour tally to 15 and moved him alongside Thomas Bjørn at 15th on the all-time list.
Padraig Harrington: “I haven’t won yet this year, and I knew the year was nearly done, so it’s always important to get a win every year. It’s a big win, the Portugal Masters is a big tournament. I’ve been coming here for ten years, so I’ve always liked it down here.
“There’s so many Irish people here. It’s always felt like a home away from home, so it’s really nice to win the tournament.
“I tried to be really aggressive. The golf course suited me and I just tried to go after every pin I could, and make birdies. I have a pretty good short game, that was on form this week. No matter where I hit it, I felt like I could get it up and down.”
Andy Sullivan: “I just couldn’t get anything to drop on the back nine. It was frustrating, I gave myself so many chances but it wasn’t my day on the greens. But I’m still massively proud of the way I’ve come out here and tried to defend my title. The fans were great, unfortunately I couldn’t deliver another win but fair play to Paddy, he played great. And there are a lot of positives to take from the week, I can’t wait to get struck into the Final Series and finish the season well.”
Oli Fisher: “It’s a tough week coming into it, knowing that you have to have a decent finish to retain my playing rights. So I’m very relieved right now.
“This course gives you a lot of opportunities, but it can also trip you up if you’re not careful. So it’s not easy out there, and when I bogeyed 15 and 16 a few things crossed my mind, but I finished with two birdies there which obviously gives me so much confidence, knowing I can pull it out the bag when I really need to.
“I need a rest now. I’ve played nine out of 11 weeks, so it’s been a long run but I’m really pleased to have finished this way.”
