Padraig Harrington claimed his first European Tour title in eight years as he held off the challenge of defending champion Andy Sullivan 12- months-ago.
The three-time Major Champion drew on all his experience to perform under pressure and produce a closing bogey-free 65 to get to 23 under, one shot clear of Sullivan, who also closed his week at Victoria Clube de Golfe with a 65, and two better than Anders Hansen and Mikko Korhonen - who secured his playing privileges after starting the week 116th on the Race to Dubai.
Sullivan made a stunning start to the final round, birdieing four of his first five holes to get to 20 under, while Korhonen birdied the second and fourth and when Hansen had gains on the fourth and fifth, there was a three-way tie at the top.
But Harrington began chipping away at the lead, making birdies on the second, the 11th (with a holed bunker shot) and the 12th to join Sullivan and Hansen atop the leaderboard. Harrington spun his approach on the 14th back to five feet to move ahead but Sullivan took an aggressive line over the water on the 17th and joined him at 22 under.
A third birdie of the week on the penultimate hole followed from Harrington, however, and he parred the last with a brilliant up and down to claim a dramatic victory.
As defending champion and three-time Major winner, Harrington headlines the field alongside a host of Europe’s finest, and Portugal’s most promising, players.
Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn, former Masters Champions José María Olazábal and Danny Willett as well as former Open Champion Paul Lawrie will join Harrington among the household names in Portugal.
The addition of World Golf Championship winners Shane Lowry and Russell Knox to recent Ryder Cup stars such as Thomas Pieters, Andy Sullivan, Victor Dubuisson and Nicolas Colsaerts only adds to a richly diverse field packed with talent.
In total there are eight of the ten former Portugal Masters champions and 61 European Tour winners teeing up in the Algarve.
Now in its 11th year of staging the Portugal Masters, the Victoria Clube de Golf is now firmly established as one of the tour’s most popular venues.
Designed by the legendary Arnold Palmer and opened in 2004, the Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course has hosted the Portugal Masters since its first edition in 2007. The par five 17th is the signature hole of the course and is called “Cascatas Victória” (Victoria Falls), honouring the 12 waterfalls inside the several lakes along the right hand side of the fairway. The 17th and 18th are the two toughest holes on the course, with the final challenge facing the players being a long par four with sand and water protecting the green.
Before that tough closing stretch is a golf course which rewards good play with a lot of chances to make birdies, which traditionally makes the Portugal Masters one of the lowest scoring and exciting events on tour.