Strange forces seemed to be at work at Powerscourt yesterday, when Seiji Ebihara birdied the final hole to capture the top prize of £41,650 in a dramatic climax to the AIB Irish Seniors Open. It meant another crushing setback for Simon Owen at the hands of a Japanese player, after a lapse of 23 years.

Back in 1978, the New Zealander was within sight of the World Matchplay crown at Wentworth, only to be beaten in the final by Isao Aoki. And with a one-stroke lead going to the 18th on this occasion, he was overtaken and beaten by a player who learned his craft from Aoki.

Playing in the final three-ball, Ebihara seemed to have knocked himself out of contention after a triple-bogey seven at the fourth. But with a wedge to 10 feet on the long 17th, he got within a stroke of the overnight leader. And he had no more than a two-and-a-half foot putt for a birdie on the last, after a glorious nine-iron approach of 125 yards.

It was a suitably exciting finale to an event which was blessed with delightful weather over the three days. And the quality of the play won many admirers for a venue which had not been seen to proper effect during the Smurfit Irish Professional Championship three years ago. A final round of 71 gave Ebihara a nine-under-par aggregate of 207 for his first win since joining this tour last year. And a birdie on the 18th, this time from eight feet, gave the other member of the final three-ball, Bernard Gallacher, a share of third place with Denis Durnian.

"This is fantastic for me," said Ebihara, through an interpreter. "It is my first visit to Ireland and everybody, the Powerscourt club, the audience, everybody has been so warm and kind to me." He added: "I was born in Chiba, just beside where Isao Aoki lives and from the time I was seven, he has taught me how to play golf." The home challenge had all but fizzled out on Saturday when only two players from an original 14 - Eddie Polland and the 1998 champion, Joe McDermott - made the cut. As it happened, Polland finished in a nine-way tie for 38th place while his compatriot was eight places further back.

By opening up a three-stroke lead with a record-equalling 65 on Saturday, Owen ensured the tournament was his to lose. And he made an ominous start, with bogeys at the first two holes before stretched nerve-ends began to settle.

Figures of one over par from the third to the 18th tee left him within sight of victory, largely because of errors by Gallacher, who three putted the sixth and eighth for bogeys, and by the challenging Delroy Cambridge, who carded three successive bogeys from the 15th. But Ebihara - "the mistake on the fourth made me a little anxious" - quietly eased himself back into contention.

Though Gallacher finished strongly, earlier short-game weaknesses were totally alien to a player whose deftness around the greens was a trademark of 21 victories as a "regular" tour player. Clearly, time has taken its toll.

Owen was beaten by Philip Walton in the semi-finals of the Dunhill Cup at St Andrews in 1990. But he is probably best remembered as leader of the British Open after 69 holes at the same venue in 1978, until Jack Nicklaus overhauled him with a birdie to a bogey on the 70th, just as Ebihara did on the 18th yesterday.

In this latest set-back, the New Zealander was let down once more by the driver, which has always been the weakest club in his bag. After blocking his drive into rough down the last, he came up four yards short of the green in two. Then, using the putter, he misread the left to right break, leaving the ball 10 feet from the target and took a further two putts from there.

"I didn't feel comfortable all day and as a result, I didn't handle the situation that well," he admitted afterwards. Then, almost as an afterthought, he added: "I just blew it." And in the process, he became the victim of inexorable fate.

Given this was only his second senior event, however, there are likely to other chances. He could certainly use them, given that he sold his home on 10 acres in Wanganui two weeks ago, so he and his wife Catherine would commit themselves totally to a new life on tour.