EUROPEAN OPEN: PERHAPS IT was fate? Possibly, it was just a mathematical inevitability that Ross Fisher - a fall-guy so often in the past, but hardened by those experiences - would one day come good when it counted. Or maybe the Englishman simply played the best golf for four days in the European Open at the London Club.

Fisher claimed his second European Tour title as a wire-to-wire winner. He was certainly impressive, having set a course record 63 in the opening round to jump quickest from the starting blocks.

And if yesterday's 68 for 268 was some five strokes worse than his first round, it was nevertheless a notable performance in conditions that combined rain with strong winds to pose a puzzle that many players couldn't decipher.

Fisher has endured his trials and tribulations. In last year's BMW PGA championship, he was overnight co-leader with Paul Broadhurst going into the final round. He shot an 84 to plummet to 39th place. Then, in last year's HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, there was further final-round heartbreak. Holding a two-stroke lead over Phil Mickelson playing the last, he chipped from the greenside into the water and ran-up a double bogey. He lost to Mickelson in a play-off.

This time, there was to be no capitulation. On a day when many players laboured, with Paul McGinley describing it simply as "a horrible day", Fisher played a round of golf that was near exemplary, including as it did an eagle (on the fifth, where he holed a 50-footer) and three birdies, with a lone bogey on the second.

Sergio Garcia produced the best round of a day, a superb 66 for 275 that saw the Spaniard claim the runner-up spot, while Graeme McDowell finished alone in third after overcoming a nightmare start that saw him drop four strokes in four holes.

But this was Fisher's title, his second following a maiden success in last year's Dutch Open.

Fisher had started the day with the title in his grasp, but the squally conditions meant any weakness of mind or body would be exposed.

To his credit, Fisher, despite dropping a shot on the second, played precision golf. He hit 10 of 14 fairways and found 16 greens. His name seemed to be written on the trophy, especially when he holed that raker for eagle on the fifth. And, when he splashed out off a greenside bunker on the 18th and watched as the ball ran into the hole, Fisher's coronation as European Open champion was confirmed.

Of that bunker shot that was the piece de resistance of his final round, Fisher remarked: "I told myself not to do anything silly, to get it out to 10 or 15 feet that if I missed it I was still going to win.

"Once again I was calm and confident over the shot. The connection was really good, the ball landed soft and when it hit the flag and dropped in it was the stuff of dreams."

The win was all the more remarkable given he had played the course blind on Thursday. But having got that fast start, he managed to retain control and close it out in some style.

"He's very, very good player who had a very good week and that's a good combination to have," said Padraig Harrington. "It's a very impressive win, because the last thing you want to do on a lead is to go out in nasty weather. He handled it very well."

Garcia had started the day too far back to make serious inroads, although his round, which included just 21 putts, was in itself a fine one. He reached the turn in 32, without dropping a shot and reeling off three birdies, from the seventh to the ninth, that confirmed a new confidence with the putter.

Apart from McDowell, who managed to overcome his horrendous start and turn it around to ensure he secured a third-place finish, it was a disappointing final day for the rest of the Irish contingent.

Rory McIlroy, at least, secured a top-10 finish that effectively means he has retained his card by the midpoint of the season.

"I think I hung in there quite well," said McIlroy, who shot a 74 for 284, four under, that left him in a four-way tie for 10th place.

"This gives me something to build on for next week (in the Scottish Open) and for the rest of the year. I've started to hit it a lot better off the tee and started to scramble well, and those were the two things I was struggling with."

McIlroy endured a poor start with a bogey on the first and a double-bogey on the fourth, but then battened down the hatches. "It's been a good week for confidence and hopefully I can end the season well."

For McGinley, it was a day to forget, finishing with a 78 for 286, two under, that saw him start the final round in tied-fourth but end up in a share of 17th - alongside Harrington - and amazed by the scores shot by other players in the conditions.

"I can't fathom how guys were shooting under par, I was just battling like hell."

As Fisher could tell him, when it is your time, it is your time.