The old order is restored

No piper's lament on this occasion, rather a serenade of Scottish tunes to recognise that the old order had been restored. And, as Colin Montgomerie settled in behind the local pipe and drum band for the victory parade around the lily-covered pond that adorns the area between the 18th green and the Fota Island clubhouse, it was almost possible to see the weight lift from those hefty shoulders of his.

We have waited 13 months to see Monty return to the winner's circle on the European Tour, and some even had the audacity to prophesise the end of his career. Poppycock! Montgomerie's pillar-to-post win in the Murphy's Irish Open - in a 72-hole aggregate record for the tournament of 266, one shot better than Bernhard Langer's winning total at Royal Dublin in 1984 - was confirmation that he hadn't gone away, you know.

"I think Sam (Torrance) will be even more pleased than Monty," remarked Darren Clarke, a reference to the fact that the Scot's win pushed him back into the automatic places in Europe's Ryder Cup qualifying table. Montgomerie moved from 13th to sixth in that list, which is now headed by Padraig Harrington, who finished in tied-second alongside Clarke and Niclas Fasth, five strokes behind the winner.

It was the best Irish performance since Philip Walton lost out to Ian Woosnam in a play-off for the title at Portmarnock in 1989.

On Saturday night, less than a hundred yards from the old jetty in Cobh where so many had taken their ill-fated steps onto the Titanic, and as part of a weekend carnival that coincided with the tournament, fireworks were fired from a boat into the night sky to create a blaze of colour. Yesterday, the carnival continued at the course where - to use a local expression - the place was "jointed", with an estimated 40,000 spectators, and the players responded with a birdie fest that ignited the tournament.

For Monty, the central figure in the golfing carnival, it was the manner of his win that was particularly gratifying.

"This is possibly the most important victory of any," remarked a man who has won 31 titles worldwide in a career that has seen him dominate the European Tour for the past decade. As he strode down the 18th fairway, he felt an unusual sensation, brought about by the genuine reception from the huge galleries.

"It felt like home, to be honest. To support a Scot who had just beaten two of the top Irish players was," and he shakes his head, before adding: "a real thrill."