McGinley makes top 10 but three-putts ruin chance of win

Paul McGinley got within two strokes of the lead but had to settle for 10th place on his own, as leader of the Irish challenge. It brought him the handsome reward of £24,000 sterling but he failed in another objective which dominated his thoughts over the weekend.

"After this, I was hoping to get an exemption into the British Open as one of the first five players in the top-20 of the Order of Merit not otherwise exempt," he said. As it happened, he was more than £8,700 short of the target, but the gap would have been more than bridged had his aggregate score been only one stroke lower.

Still, there were compensations. "My game is improving each week since I returned from injury (in last month's Cannes Open)," he said. "I played well enough to win but unfortunately I made too many mistakes. For instance, you can't expect to win an event like this after three-putting six times."

The point was well made. McGinley's six birdies yesterday meant that he had a total of 22 birdies and an eagle over the four rounds. And after an outward 34 was followed by birdies at the 10th and 12th, he had got to 10under-par - only two strokes off the lead.

"At that stage, I mentally set myself a target of 14 under," he said. "And whatever happened, I knew I couldn't afford to drop any shots." Unfortunately, the plan went awry almost immediately when a blocked drive led to a bogey five at the 13th.

But he battled on in the knowledge that serious money was at stake for a top-10 finish. So it was that he birdied the 15th from 12 feet before going on to hit a glorious five-iron second shot of 195 yards at the last. Two putts from 25 feet completed the work.

Padraig Harrington didn't hide his delight when a left-lip birdie putt from 12 feet behind the 18th hole found the target for a 10under-par total of 278 and a prize of £20,100. It delivered his highest finish since early-season events in Australia while rewarding him for dedication to practice in the build-up to this event.

Yet it seemed likely to be a disappointing finale when he stood one-over-par for the round after 11 holes. Then a chip to six feet brought him level. And he finished in style by sinking a 10footer for a birdie on the long 17th, followed by another birdie at the last. "I'm happy with the way I played," he said. "My ball-striking today made me realise how much room there was for improvement." Then he added that he will be playing next week's English Open, due to the fact that he failed to get an invitation to the Kemper Open in the US.

Darren Clarke was hit by a painful case of the might-have-beens after shooting a final round of 68 for a more than respectable total of 282. From a share of 45th place overnight, he moved into a share of 29th place and prize money of £10,620. But he still slipped from sixth to seventh in the Order of Merit.

"If I hadn't thrown those shots away in a third round of 75, I'd have been right up there fighting for the title," he said afterwards. "I played really well today. In fact I was striking it so good that I feel I can win again pretty soon. And it would be really nice to do it in the Irish Open."

Raymond Burns lost ground with a final round of 73 for 289 and prize money of £3,480.