Montgomerie is the essence of consistency

The big Scot doesn't need to dye his hair royal blue and embellish it with a bleached St Andrew's Cross. He's fine just the way he is. Yesterday, in the rolling Oxfordshire hills, Colin Montgomerie brought a semblance of normality to the European Tour when he cruised, as is his trademark, to a Benson and Hedges International Open title that had stubbornly rebuked him in previous years.

In a season which thus far has produced seven first time winners, Montgomerie was the essence of consistency. He fired a bogey-free final round of 68 for a 15-under-par total of 273 that gave him an eventual three-shots winning margin over Argentina's Angel Cabrera and Sweden's Per-Ulrik Johansson.

On a dry day, with a persistent breeze and wicked pin placements, the anticipated duel between Montgomerie and JoseMaria Olazabal, paired together, failed to materialise and, instead, another Latin, Cabrera, emerged as his main challenger.

Standing on the 17th fairway, Montgomerie was one up on his chief pursuer Cabrera. But, unknown to him, the Argentine was simultaneously bogeying the last. Unaware of his increased cushion, Montgomerie opted to go for the green across a water carry of 252 yards off a downhill lie. "As soon as I hit it, I knew the tournament was dead," said Montgomerie.

Apart from Cabrera, no-one else posed a real threat. Jeremy Robinson shot a course record 64 while Eamonn Darcy was one of those who failed to make a charge on the back nine when it mattered most.

On the 10th tee, Darcy had a look of conviction about him that meant business. "I honestly thought I had a chance to win," he conceded afterwards. At that stage, the tour veteran had moved to 10-under-par - having covered the front nine in 33 - and was snapping on the heels joint-leaders Cabrera, who was in the following pairing, and Montgomerie, both of whom were on 12-under at that juncture.

However, Darcy bogeyed the 12th, when his approach found a bunker, and then three genuine birdie chances (at the 13th, 14th and 17th) all failed to drop. "Even though I missed those putts, the putter was kind in my hands and that has given me increased confidence," admitted Darcy, who finished with a 71 for nine-under-par 279 and in a nine-way tie for seventh which gave him a cheque for €22,276 (Stg£15,600).

Padraig Harrington closed out with a roller-coaster round of 68 for eight-under-par 280 that included eight birdies but also featured two bogeys and a costly double-bogey six at the 12th where his four-iron "snagged" in the rough and forced him to pull his approach shot into water.

"Tee-to-green I'm playing better than at any time in my life," said Harrington, "but I'm disappointed with the mistakes, mainly mental errors, that crept in today." However, he did show fortitude to recover from that horrendous six and finished birdie-birdie to lift himself into a tie for 16th place.

Clarke, meanwhile, made the short trip down the motorway to his Sunningdale home in much happier mood than his other homecomings so far this season. "I'm obviously hoping for a good deal better over the next few weeks - at the TPC, the PGA and the English Open - but this week has been encouraging and effectively starts my season. I hit a lot of really good shots and putted quite nicely."

Indeed, an element of his game that was especially satisfying was his putting. "Do you know, that's the first time I've played a tournament without a three putt in as long as I can remember," remarked Clarke.

For Paul McGinley, the final round proved to be a frustrating one. The Dubliner closed with a 72 for seven-under-par 281 and, after grinding out nine straight pars on the outward journey, he found water for the first time at the 10th and then again at the 13th. The results of the wayward shots were bogey and double-bogey respectively, but he bounced back on each occasion with birdies at the 11th and 14th, and another at the 17th, and the promise to cure a swing that he felt was "fractionally off" in time for the TPC and Volvo PGA.