Dismal back nine costs Pádraig Harrington in final Olympic prep

A back nine riddled with five bogeys and a double saw Pádraig Harrington slump to a final round 75 and a total of one under par at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut.

Scotland’s Russell Knox held it together down the final hole to sink a clutch 15 foot par putt for a final round of 68 and win by a shot from Jerry Kelly.

Overnight leader Daniel Berger slumped to a final round 74 to finish three shots behind Knox’s total of 14 under.

The win all but secures Knox’s place on Darren Clarke’s Ryder Cup team for the clash at Hazeltine next month and adds to his WGC HSBC Champions win in November of last year.

It was a disappointing finish for the Dubliner – who now travels to Rio to represent Ireland at the Olympics – after he shot a superb 65 in the third round to put himself in a good position going into the final round.

That good form looked to be continuing when he birdied the third hole to move to seven under for the tournament.

Although a bogey followed at the sixth, he recovered almost immediately thanks to a superb approach and birdie putt at the par four ninth.

However, it all began to unravel on the back nine as a bogey on the 10th immediately handed the previous birdie back to the course.

Further bogeys followed at the 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th before a disastrous double at the 17th after his approach found a watery grave.

A birdie at the last salvaged some pride but it was an inward nine of 41 and a finish well down the leaderboard.

Meanwhile, Anthony Wall beat Alex Noren in the Aberdeen Asset Management Paul Lawrie Match Play final to win his second European Tour title a record 16 years and 204 days after his maiden victory.