Mathias Grönberg maintained a proud Swedish tradition at The K Club by succeeding double winner Per-Ulrik Johansson as the new Smurfit European Open champion.
Johansson collected his second title by a six stroke margin in 1997, but Grönberg eclipsed that marvellous performance by recording a staggering 10 stroke victory over a star-studded field.
The 29 year old from Stockholm led for three of the four rounds to claim the biggest prize of his career, £208,300, with a 13 under par total of 275. It was only his second European Tour triumph following a win in the Canon European Masters in 1995, but earned him a five year exemption.
Grönberg left players of the highest quality trailing in his slipstream. Miguel Angel Jiménez and Phillip Price tied for second a distant ten shots behind on 285, with local hero Darren Clarke taking fourth.
That high finish wasn’t enough, though, to allow the Irishman to overhaul Lee Westwood at the head of the Volvo Ranking.
Westwood holds a £56,000 lead over his close friend, but didn’t earn a penny in Ireland after withdrawing just five holes into his final round with a hip injury.
Grönberg, meanwhile, rocketed from 54th in the Volvo Ranking to eighth, after compiling his solid scores of 68, 71, 67 and 69. The winning margin was just one shot outside the long-time European Tour record of 11 and Grönberg joked: "Just one outside the record? I should have played two shots better!"
On a serious note, he added: "I’m very, very happy with this win. To know I could have dropped so many shots and still win made me very relaxed. After making an eagle at the 13th, I enjoyed the last five holes so much with the Irish people applauding me all the way."
It wasn’t all plain sailing, though. When Grönberg arrived at The K Club he was hitting the ball wickedly in both directions, while he suffered a stiff neck problem which needed daily doses of treatment by the Tour’s 3M physio team.
He added: "I have to thank Peter Harrison of Callaway for helping me find my game on the range. That was when it clicked for me."
The Swede sprang into action from the gun, shooting a 68 to lead by a stroke from Clarke, for whom the tournament was a sad, sombre affair in the wake of the tragic bombing of Omagh in Northern Ireland.
A minute’s silence was impeccably observed at 15.10 precisely on Saturday by all the players, caddies, officials and public out of respect for the victims of the tragedy.
On the course, Grönberg was ticking over nicely. He trailed Bernhard Langer - who shot a best of the week 65 on Friday - and José Rivero by a shot at halfway, but a third round 67 propelled him into a three stroke lead going into the final day.
That day proved to be something of a procession as Grönberg swept clear of the field on a wet, blustery afternoon, picking up three early birdies and that eagle at the 13th to cruise home.
Jiménez fired a final 69 to earn more than twice his winning cheque in Majorca earlier in the season, while Price landed the biggest cheque of his career thanks to a closing 71. He said: "It’s fantastic. It was here a year ago that I decided to commit myself more to the game and it’s now paying off."
