In the end, a coveted victory went not to the Dubliner, but to his Ryder Cup partner. Miguel Angel Jimenez was cheered to the echo by delirious local galleries, when he became the first Spaniard to capture top prize of £166,000 in the Volvo Masters here at Montecastillo yesterday.
But Padraig Harrington birdied the last hole for a share of second place with Bernhard Langer and Retief Goosen and a cheque for £74,533 And by his own estimation, it represented further progress up the competitive ladder, which has gained impressive momentum in recent months.
"I'm happy I'm going forward," said the 28-year-old after a closing 67 was good enough only for a runner-up finish for a fifth time in Europe this season. And reflective of the stunning standards is that another of those finishes also came after a final round round of 67 - in last month's German Masters where he lost a play-off to Sergio Garcia.
Still, it was a strong tournament for the three Irish challengers in that Darren Clarke, the defending champion, shot a closing 66 for a share of fifth place and prize money of £38,950
Clarke and Harrington will be remaining in Spain for the £3 million WGC American Express Championship, which begins at Valderrama on Thursday. Latest word from across the Atlantic is that David Duval ("I'm going fishing"), Fred Couples, Mark O'Meara, Steve Stricker and Greg Norman are among the US Tour players absenting themselves from the event. To which Montgomerie reacted: "I'm not surprised, insofar as the second prize of $400,000 at Valderrama is smaller than in their Tour Championship this weekend."
"Either way, I've got my own agenda. Even with the biggest lead I've ever had at the top of the Order of Merit, it's still going to come down to Valderrama," he added.
