Harrington wins in Portugal

Padraig Harrington rolled back the years with a closing 65 to take victory at the Portugal Masters.

The Irishman carded six birdies and no bogeys in a flawless final round to claim his first win since last year’s Honda Classic and his maiden European Tour victory since the 2008 US PGA Championship.

His tally of 23-under was one better than defending champion Andy Sullivan who also avoided dropping a shot on Sunday at Victoria Clube de Golfe on his way to matching Harington’s 65.

Joint overnight leaders Anders Hansen and Mikko Korhonen shared third on 21-under after both shooting 68 on Sunday, while Paul Lawrie was part of a four-way tie for fifth, three off the pace.

The day belonged to Harrington though and having so far failed to win in 2016, the three-time major winner was delighted to have been able to play so well under pressure at one of his favourite tournaments.

“I haven’t won yet this year, so I know the year is nearly done, it’s always important to get a win every year, a winning year,” he said. “It’s a big win. Portugal Masters is a big tournament. I’ve been coming here for ten years so I’ve always liked it down here. I’ve always liked coming down to Portugal.

“There’s so many Irish people here. It 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.”

Tagged Padraig Harrington, Portugal Masters