DESPITE his rather infrequent appearances on European fairways for much of 1996, Mark McNulty has nonetheless, executed some timely raids. The virtual stranger, however, reserved his most impressive invasion for the tour's finale and, yesterday, McNulty turned the Volvo Masters into a one man show, firing a final round 68 for a 72 hole aggregate of eight under par 276.

It was obvious for the entire afternoon that McNulty, who claimed his third win in just 13 appearances on the Tour this season, would get his hands on the £150,000 top prize. But elsewhere there were enough secondary battles - vis a vis the money list, with bonus pool money and precious exemptions into the US Open and British Open at stake - to keep things extremely interesting.

Indeed, Paul McGinley was one of the big winners, thanks to bogeys on the last hole by Jose Coceres and Wayne Riley, which allowed him to stay in 15th place in the Order of Merit. But Thomas Bjorn, who sneaked ahead of Padraig Rarrington in the last few weeks of the season, retained his position ahead of the Dubliner in the money list and is likely to claim the rookie of the year" award.

McNulty, though, didn't have much need for calculators or mental arithmetic. The suave Zimbabwean produced near flawless golf over the weekend incurring just one bogey in the final two rounds - and, in the end, had seven shots to spare over a quartet of players: Sam Torrance, Lee Westwood, Wayne Westner and Coceres.

For his part, McNulty has always felt destined to win the event. In fact, during a practice round over the course last Tuesday, McNulty recalled: "I turned to Basil, my caddie and told him this was my best chance to do it. My game was in good shape and the manicured state of the course just inspires me every time I play here."

Such a positive attitude undoubtedly helps, as McNulty confirmed. "There are always 40 or 50 guys moaning, crying and bitching about this or that, difficult pin positions and such like. But that is the nature of the beast, you have got to accept it.

"My course management was really good all week - and I knew I had the tournament in the bag after back to back birdies at the 10th and 11th holes. It was mine to lose after that, but I went into cruise mode, and the birdie on the 18th was just the icing on the cake. It is an important win for me, especially on such a demanding course," he said.

McNulty literally turned the final round into an afternoon stroll in the Spanish sunshine. On another near perfect day, however, the difference in scoring was quite remarkable. For instance, McNulty's playing partner, Wayne Riley, endured a dreadful time and signed for a 77, a round which included eight bogeys, while Bernhard Langer failed to gatecrash the party and, despite a solid 72, his tied 16th place meant he failed to win a tournament on the European Tour for the first time in 17 years.

Apart from his winner's cheque, McNulty also collected an extra £39,000 from the bonus pool for finishing fifth in the Order of Merit and a likely place in the US Masters. "I am not taking an invite to Augusta for granted though, you never know what they will do," he said.

It was also an lucrative day for Colin Montgomerie, who collected £150,000 from the bonus pool for topping the money list for a record equalling fourth time. For another Scot, however, a birdie at the final hole made it a fulfilling afternoon. Torrance sank a 15 footer for a share of second place and moved to fifth place in the Ryder Cup standings.

"What a nice way to finish a season," quipped Slammin' Sam. "But I don't think that 17th hole is fair, and I expect it will he a controversial hole during the Ryder Cup."

Coceres, though, is more likely to curse the 18th hole. The Argentinian three putted the last hole, which deprived him of second place on his own and, effectively, cost him £40,098, plus a place in the top 15. "It cost me a lot of money, but sometimes you win and sometimes you lose," he said, philosophically.

There were other battles within the tournament, most notably the one between Harrington and Bjorn. The Dubliner - who had a final round 73 for 292 - finished his debut season in 11th place in the money list, one place behind his Danish adversary.

Harrington flies out today for the Gene Sarazen World Open in Atlanta, and the vote for "rookie of the year" (taken by representatives of the European Tour, the Royal and Ancient and the Association of Golf Writers) will be taken after that event. Traditionally, however, the award has gone to the leading rookie in the Order of Merit, so Harrington will have to achieve something rather special in the US to claim the honour.

"I just couldn't hole a putt," said Harrington, who sank a 20 footer at the first for his only birdie of the final round.

"Still, I have exceeded all expectations this season and it is fantastic to secure exemptions into the US Open and British Open for next year."

While McNulty may prove to be the last winner of the Volvo Masters at Valderrama (the event moves to a new venue for next year to make way for the Ryder Cup), Messrs Harrington and Bjorn savoured their first professional appearances at the venue and both would love to be part of Europe's team for the Ryder Cup.