German Masters Final Totals: Padraig Harrington, ever the master of the unexpected, crafted a magnificent comeback to win the German Masters at Gut Larchenhof yesterday by three shots and he will today be heading to Oakland Hills for the Ryder Cup in even higher good humour than usual.
The Irishman is an optimist of the sunniest kind but even he must have worried when he found himself six shots behind Graeme McDowell, the 54-hole leader, after only two holes yesterday.
However, Harrington was level by the turn and continued to prosper as McDowell crumbled on the back nine, coming home in 39, three over par, for a 77 and a share of third place on 279, nine under par and four shots behind the winner.
Harrington, who finished with a 70, took the lead for the first time when McDowell dropped a shot at the short 11th and moved two ahead when the Ulsterman also bogeyed the 14th.
The lead became three when Harrington rolled in a 15-footer for birdie at the long 15th and it was all done and dusted when McDowell hit his tee shot into the water at the 16th and took five.
McDowell started the round three shots ahead of Harrington, who had charged back into contention with a 64 on Saturday, and after two holes yesterday the Ulsterman had doubled his lead.
He birdied the first and Harrington bogeyed. The Dubliner dropped another shot at the second, where McDowell got a free drop from a spectator's handbag and saved his par. Six shots ahead, the 25-year-old looked to be coasting towards his second win of the season and the third of his career.
It was not to be, however, with Harrington proving as peskily persistent as the frisky breeze. He reduced the deficit immediately with a birdie four at the third and clawed another one back when McDowell overshot the green at the fifth and dropped his first shot. Harrington saved his par three at the eighth when he got up and down from the bunker in front of the green, so was still three shots behind as they went to the ninth tee.
The par-four is 469 yards long and is one of those holes that a golfer is happy to negotiate without disaster, with water rippling siren-like to the right of the green and a pin that is invariably placed precariously close to the lake. It more than lived up to its reputation as it imposed itself on the tournament yet again.
Ian Woosnam failed to finish the hole on Thursday and was disqualified and yesterday it was McDowell's turn to suffer agonies.
Eschewing heroics, he hit his second shot into the bunker on the left but the stance was awkward and what happened next was the worst of all possible outcomes for the man from Portrush. He thinned the ball into the water to incur a penalty and had to hole a knee-trembling three-footer for a double-bogey six.
Even worse, from McDowell's point of view, was the fact that Harrington, who had driven into the rough on the left but had hit his second shot to 15 feet, had sunk the putt for a birdie. With a swing of three shots the Ryder Cup player, who always has a bit of bounce to his sailor's gait, was now on level terms at 12 under par. It was game on.
McDowell had not been unduly fazed by taking a lead into the last day, even though it was unfamiliar territory for him as a professional.
"I won nine times in college in America," he said before the round, "so I am sure I took leads into tournaments. I am comfortable in the lead but I obviously haven't done it for a couple of years. At the end of the day game plans are game plans and they are there to be executed. I'll just be keeping my head down. I want the trophy pretty badly."
In the end it was Harrington's inspiration - he birdied all four of the par-fives, including the 13th and 15th - that proved irresistible and earned him the silverware and a cheque for €500,000.
Harrington had treatment for a "tight shoulder" over the weekend but is confident it will not be a problem at Oakland Hills. "It was perfect today. I just overdid it practising for four hours on Friday afternoon," he said.
Harrington's win was the third successive victory for a European Ryder Cup team member, after successes for Miguel Angel Jimenez and Luke Donald.
Guardian Service
EUROPEAN TOUR: Volvo Order of Merit: 1 Ernie Els (Rsa) £1,621,282, 2 Retief Goosen (Rsa) £1,341,603, 3 Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) £1,071,943, 4 Thomas Levet (Fra) £1,043,905, 5 Padraig Harrington (Ire) £1,010,365, 6 Darren Clarke (N Ire) £829,861, 7 Nick O'Hern (Aus) £816,449, 8 Angel Cabrera (Arg) £787,113, 9 Graeme McDowell (N Ire) £739,084, 10 Paul Casey (Eng) £723,254.
(Gut Larchenhof, Cologne, Germany)
(Irish in bold, British unless stated, par 72):
275 - Padraig Harrington 66 75 64 70 (€500,000)
278 - N O'Hern (Aus) 68 68 72 70 (€333,000)
279 - R Jacquelin (Fra) 68 68 70 73, Graeme McDowell 69 64 69 77 (€168,900 each)
280 - A Cejka (Ger) 67 70 71 72 (€127,200)
283 - N Dougherty 72 71 71 69, R Green (Aus) 68 68 73 74, P Casey 68 72 67 76
284 - K Ferrie 73 71 72 68
285 - A Forsyth 70 71 73 71, T Immelman (Rsa) 70 73 71 71
286 - R Muntz (Ned) 69 73 72 72, J Haeggman (Swe) 72 71 71 72, T Levet (Fra) 70 68 74 74, S Dodd 72 71 70 73, JM Olazabal (Spa) 69 74 69 74
287 - R Gonzalez (Arg) 77 70 71 69, K Eriksson (Swe) 71 74 71 71, M Brier (Aut) 73 72 70 72, G Owen 68 71 74 74, R Derksen (Ned) 70 69 73 75, Darren Clarke 71 70 71 75
288 - T Gogele (Ger) 71 76 72 69, P Lima (Fra) 75 69 73 71, B Davis 73 69 70 76, S Khan 74 71 66 77
289 - J Spence 73 73 74 69, M Tunnicliff 76 71 72 70, A Cabrera (Arg) 70 75 71 73, B Rumford (Aus) 71 73 72 73, P O'Malley (Aus) 71 69 75 74, P Price 73 72 70 74, G Havret (Fra) 72 73 70 74, M Roe 75 70 70 74, B Dredge 75 68 71 75, J Remesy (Fra) 74 71 69 75, S Webster 73 70 70 76
290 - M Jimenez (Spa) 75 69 73 73, N Fasth (Swe) 73 71 71 75
291 - T Bjorn (Den) 74 70 75 72, M Fraser (Aus) 73 72 73 73, L Oosthuizen (Rsa) 68 76 74 73, J Moseley (Aus) 72 73 72 74, A Hansen (Den) 72 72 73 74, G Orr 71 73 73 74, S Hansen (Den) 71 74 71 75
292 - A Tadini (Ita) 76 71 72 73, P Baker 73 73 72 74, M Campbell (Nzl) 72 72 74 74, C Cevaer (Fra) 72 72 73 75, M Olander (Swe) 75 72 69 76
293 - E Romero (Arg) 75 72 76 70, A Wall 69 76 77 71, B Lane 69 78 70 76
294 - KJ Choi (Kor) 71 75 69 79
295 - S Lyle 78 69 74 74, P Hedblom (Swe) 72 75 73 75, M Maritz (Rsa) 74 72 73 76, D Borrego (Spa) 73 70 75 77, R Rock 72 70 74 79
296 - I Garrido (Spa) 73 74 73 76, Gary Murphy 69 78 71 78, G Emerson 73 72 70 81
297 - C Rodiles (Spa) 74 72 75 76, J Kingston (Rsa) 75 72 71 79
298 - P Fulke (Swe) 74 73 73 78, E Simsek (Ger) 71 73 76 78, R Russell 71 70 74 83
300 - M Siem (Ger) 72 75 81 72
301 - M Farry (Fra) 70 76 72 83
304 - D Geall 70 73 77 84
305 - A Oldcorn 73 72 80 80
