European golf had its natural leader back in position yesterday, when Colin Montgomerie swept to a five-stroke victory in the Murphy's Irish Open at Fota Island. And with glorious sunshine creating a memorable, sporting occasion, Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke responded brilliantly in a share of second place with the mandatory Swede, Niclas Fasth.

It was the Scot's 25th victory on the European Tour and his first since the Volvo PGA Championship 13 months ago. And his delight at leading from start to finish for the first time in his career, could be gauged from the observation: "That was one of the most important, if not the most important win of my career."

Meanwhile, when the two Irishmen eventually met each other, having finished 20 minutes apart, Harrington extended a congratulatory hand. Then with a typical grin, he suggested: "We nearly did it. If we could have got rid of the other guy, it would have been nearly perfect." Clarke grinned in agreement, before responding: "Yeh. It would have been." But even in that friendly exchange, the Tyroneman could see the significance of Harrington's "nearly perfect."

Without Monty, their stunning, final rounds of 64 would have left them in a play-off.

Of course the resurgent Scot changed all that. And much as the teeming galleries would have thrilled to a first home victory since 1982, they seemed to take Montgomerie to their hearts, as if to acknowledge his incalculable contribution to the game on this side of the Atlantic.

The manner of his victory on 18 under par - incidentally, just as he had predicted was entirely appropriate after one of the finest championships we have witnessed in this country. All the key ingredients seemed to carry the stamp of quality, from the overall facilities to the beautifully presented golf course and ultimately, the actual battle for the title.

At lunchtime, there was the sight of Ian Woosnam, a most unlikely sunshine boy, clad in black and with perspiration pouring down his face after surging through the field with a 64. Two hours later, Fasth went a shot better with an exemplary, eight-birdie 63, which equalled Montgomerie's course record of last Thursday.

We now know that the first-round climax, when the Scot hit a five-iron shot of 210 yards from a downhill stance, exactly as he intended, set him up not only for an eagle three, but for the remainder of the tournament. It seemed to restore confidence which had been clearly battered, most recently by a share of 52nd place in the US Open, his last outing before coming here.

Saturday's 68 was also crucial in that it allowed him to carry a three-stroke lead over Australia's Adam Scott into the final round, while serious challengers such as Clarke, Harrington and Thomas Bjorn were back in a share of sixth place, seven strokes off the lead.

The importance of that last statistic was the protection it offered Montgomerie from seriously hot scoring from those in the pack. All he had to ensure was to do nothing seriously silly.

Scott's challenge foundered from the start. In the last two-ball of the day, the Australian had a birdie putt of four feet at the first, only to see it hit the left lip and stay out. It meant that even when he eagled the long fifth to the Scot's birdie, he had drawn no nearer than two strokes of the lead. And his position only worsened from there.

At this stage, Bjorn, who had birdied the long 10th to get to 12 under par and within striking distance of the lead, came to realise that timing in golf extends beyond the swing.

As it happened, his cause was helped enormously when Montgomerie made his only serious error of the day, pulling a five-iron second shot into water at the eighth to run up a double-bogey six.

At that precise moment, however, Bjorn was experiencing his own grief at the short 13th, where he, too, was in water for a double-bogey.

With that fateful stroke, the Dane's challenge was effectively killed. And it is fascinating that Montgomerie as good as secured victory at the same, treacherous, 208 yards par three. One of the holes totally redesigned by Jeff Howes in the upgrading of the course two years ago, it had a particularly tough pin placement for the final round, back right.

Standing on the tee with a two-stroke lead over Fasth, Montgomerie hit a copybook four-iron to 18 feet and holed a severely-breaking right-to-left putt for a majestic birdie. Small wonder Scott was moved to comment afterwards: "He played great on the back nine so I can have no complaints." The Australian went on:

"The vital moment of the day for me was three-putting the eighth for a bogey, where he took double-bogey. Two putts there and there would have been only a shot between us."

Elsewhere, with scoring to match the carnival atmosphere, Harrington and Clarke were engaged in what might have been a telepathic duel. In separate two-balls with another pairing in between, they couldn't have observed for the other one was doing, yet they seemed to know just the same.

So, it was highly appropriate they should have finished with birdies on the 18th for the same fourth-round score and the same total. And for the first time in the history of the event, two Irishmen shared second place.

It's a stepping-stone towards bridging what has become a 20-year gap. But for the time being, Monty reigns supreme, having moved alongside Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Nick Faldo as a three-time winner of this title.