GOLF | Harrington claims 1st European Tour victory in 8 years

Padraig Harrington stayed calm on the final hole to win the Portugal Masters yesterday [Macau time] for his first European Tour victory in eight years.
Harrington pitched from the rough and holed a 4-foot par putt to close with a 6-under 65. That left him at 23-under 261 for the tournament, enough for a one-shot win over defending champion Andy Sullivan.
Three-time major champion Harrington had taken the lead with his sixth birdie of the day on the 17th, and finished a bogey-free round at the Victoria Clube de Golfe to clinch his 15th European Tour victory. He last won on tour in 2008 at the U.S. PGA Championship.
The Irishman is now tied with Thomas Bjorn at 15th on the all-time list.
“It’s always important to get a win every year,” Harrington said. “I tried to be really aggressive. The golf course suited me and I just tried to go after every pin I could and make birdies. I have a pretty good short game that was on form this week. No matter where I hit it, I felt like I could get it up and down.”
The 45-year-old Harrington finished two shots in front of Anders Hansen of Denmark and Mikko Korhonen of Finaland, who were tied for third.
Sullivan, who was trying to become the first player to successfully defend the title, birdied four of his first five holes but the Englishman couldn’t make a charge in the end. He also shot a 6-under 65.
American David Lipsky (65) tied for fifth place. AP