Philip Reid finds the Dubliner keenly aware of the battle for Ryder Cup points

His eyes looked to the heavens, and a wry smile creased his face. Padraig Harrington's birdie putt on the 18th green, his 281st stroke of the tournament, had just disappeared below the surface and come to rest at the bottom of the tin cup. It didn't win him the tournament, but it had secured the Dubliner his first top-10 finish of the season in a strokeplay event and garnered some valuable Ryder Cup qualifying points.

The Ryder Cup is on his mind a lot these days. "I'm very aware of it, without a doubt," said Harrington of a qualifying campaign that won't end until the BMW International in Munich in late August. There's a considerable way to go, and some big-money tournaments over the summer, but Harrington - like everyone else - would rather clinch his place sooner rather than later.

As such, his tied-sixth place finish here was typical of how his campaign to date has gone: respectable, but could have been better.

"You know, if you look at my results since the start of the Ryder Cup qualifying started, the majority have been very solid, but I just haven't been making any of the big cheques and this is another week gone by," said Harrington, who earned €112,540. He remained at 13th in the European Ryder Cup points list, with 793,726 points. It is estimated that 1.5 million is the magic figure.

It was a topsy-turvy day for Harrington. Having started out in a share of fifth place, but a country mile behind champion-elect David Howell, he briefly moved to tied-fourth with back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth, but then plunged to tied-19th after three bogeys in five holes from the seventh. His round of 70 for 281, seven-under, was rescued with birdies at the 14th, 17th and 18th.

But there were a number of missed short putts (particularly on the 11th, 12th and 16th), and birdie chances too, so it could have been so much better.

"It was a bit scary on the greens today, but that was to be expected at the end of the field with heel prints, and being crusty on top. It was the same for everybody."

This event finishes a three-week stint in Europe - where he tied-14th at the British Masters and finished tied-11th at the Irish Open - and he now has a week off before returning to play the Barclays Classic, the US Open and the Booz Allen in the US, followed by an appearance in the French Open.

"I'm very happy with my form," he claimed. "Having dropped down the world rankings at the end of last year, through circumstances, I've been trying harder this year to win. The last couple of weeks have got a little bit better because I am also keeping an eye on winning points (for the Ryder Cup). The goal isn't necessary to go out there only to win. If I can't win, I am still trying to get the most out of it.

"If anything, the Ryder Cup points situation is helping me to knuckle down, but, every week, it is just a shot or two shy of making big gains."

Peter Lawrie finished in tied-25th after a closing round 71 for 285, three-under.

"I'm disappointed with the weekend. I didn't get the breaks, as per usual. I'm playing nicely, but I'm just not firing on all cylinders. I just didn't hole enough putts, I guess," he said.

For Graeme McDowell, a closing 76 for 290, two-over, dropped him down to tied-47th.

"I didn't drive the ball well and it got inside my head all week. I'm very disappointed with the way I am driving it. The rest of my game is in great shape. I just need to get the ball off the tee and I'd be pretty dangerous."