GOLF/European Open: Golf, as many have discovered to their cost, isn't a sport that is easy on its champions. Not until the last putt has dropped, and not until the numbers are counted and the card has been signed, can a winner finally feel the sense of achievement that is reserved for the very best in any given week; and so it was for Michael Campbell yesterday, as he stumbled across the winning line in the Smurfit European Open at the K Club.

For much of a sun-filled day, with barely a hint of wind, Campbell had been in control of his destiny. He had walked to the first tee-box with a one-shot lead and, by the 14th, had increased it to five. "I was in cruise control," he conceded.

And, then, suddenly and for no reason, it all went wrong. Over the closing four holes, the New Zealander tossed away shots like an over-eager aunt throwing confetti at a wedding, and he was forced to count on the misfortunes of others, rather than his superiority, to eventually lay his hands on the Waterford Glass trophy.

When Retief Goosen single-putted five of the last seven holes to be the second player into the clubhouse on five-under-par 283 - just moments after Bradley Dredge had finished on the same course - he was so sure that his day's work was finished that he jumped into a courtesy car and headed for the airport. Another tournament week beckoned.

Yet, in the time that it took him to make the trip to the airport, events on the course, and especially those to do with Campbell, made his quick get-away appear to be a tad hasty.

In the end, and only after an extraordinary finish to his round, Campbell did win, firing a final round 73 for 282, one shot clear of Goosen, Dredge, Paul Lawrie and Padraig Harrington. But the manner of his victory, covering the final four holes in successive bogeys, did nothing for Campbell.

"Professionally, I'm disappointed with the way I performed the last four holes. Obviously you've got to be a perfectionist, and the way I played those last four holes was pretty disgusting. But, on a personal basis, I am absolutely ecstatic," insisted Campbell.

In contrast to Goosen and Dredge, who effectively backed into the second place, the healing process may take longer for Lawrie, but especially for Harrington.

Playing in the final match alongside Campbell, and with seemingly everyone in the final day's crowd of 28,532 there to urge him on to victory, Harrington was the one with the chance to capitalise on Campbell's collapse coming down the straight; and he didn't.

Harrington's problems had started on the first, where he drove into rough for an opening bogey. But, in a roller-coaster front nine, that included three birdies and three bogeys, the Dubliner had serious problems with his clubbing.

"I was hitting the ball too far all day," he later remarked.

And, with each error, it seemed that the quest for victory had slipped further and further away until it was out of reach.

Campbell had played the first 14 holes in three-under; Harrington in one-over. A two-shot swing on the 15th, where Harrington rolled in a four-footer for birdie, and Campbell three-putted for bogey, opened the door only marginally.

On the 16th, however, Harrington sought to open the door even more. A huge drive left him with 225 yards to the island green.

"I hit the perfect shot, it just drifted right. I was gutted. It was probably the worst outcome of any shot I hit all day," remarked Harrington, after the ball found a watery grave in the Liffey.

He chipped and putted for a brave par, only to see Campbell self-destruct with a three-putt bogey. The deficit was now just two.

On the 17th, after driving into the trees on the right, Harrington's recovery found the front of the green. Campbell, in contrast, missed the green right, chopped out of the rough to 20 feet and two-putted for another bogey.

Harrington only had two feet for his par, but it has a vicious swing and, in his effort to take the break out of play, he struck his putt too firmly. It horse-shoed out, and he was still two behind.

The drama was far from over, though. Harrington's drive on the last carried the fairway bunkers and left him with 217 yards to the pin. Campbell, meanwhile, had found a "fluffy lie" in the semi-rough and his four-iron shot was drawn like a magnet to the lake.

Going down the shaft on a six-iron, Harrington went for the flag with his approach, and pulled it into the water.

"I still felt I needed an eagle, even for a play-off, and I felt it was in my hands. I tend sometimes to be too aggressive, too miss on the dangerous side, because I don't want to be bailing out basically, and that is what happened," said Harrington.

Although he salvaged a par after taking his drop from the lateral hazard, it wasn't enough. Campbell, who completed his near-disintegration with another bogey, still had enough - one shot - to spare to claim his fifth win on the European Tour.

It may not have been the best executed win of his career, but it was undoubtedly the biggest.

"I was in the zone for 14 holes and got too far ahead of myself and paid the consequences. But I think I will learn from this, and become a better player for it."