Ireland's Padraig Harrington captured his second title of the season when he held off the strong challenge of Scotland’s Gary Orr to win the BBVA Open Turespana Masters Comunidad de Madrid by two shots.
Returning to the Club de Campo course where he recorded his maiden European Tour victory in the 1996 Spanish Open, Harrington fired a final-round 70 for a 17-under-par total of 267.
It was his second success of the year following his victory in the Brazil Sao Paulo 500 Years Open in April and third European Tour victory in total. The Irishman was four ahead with six to play, but double-bogeyed the 13th and was in trouble at the par five next before conjuring up a wonderful recovery under the trees to steady the ship with a birdie four.
A storming finish from Scotland’s Gary Orr, bidding for his third title of the season after successes in the Algarve Portuguese Open and the Victor Chandler British Masters, kept the pressure on, but Harrington holed an 18-foot putt for par on the 16th after pulling his approach into sand and safely parred the last two for victory.
The first prize of 166,660 euro takes him top of the Ryder Cup points table and eighth on the Volvo Order of Merit.
"I won purely on my mental side," he said.
"My driving was very poor and it was the ability to persevere and not get down on myself which got me through."
Orr, who eagled the 14th and birdied the 15th and 18th, came second, while Swede Per-Ulrik Johansson, who until three-putting the 15th had looked the likeliest challenger, was third and Darren Clarke, who needed to win to overtake Lee Westwood at the top of the Volvo Order of Merit, came fourth after a closing 65.
