There was also a repeat win in the team competition for Harrington and his amateur partner, Irish businessman and horserace owner JP McManus.

The tournament, conceived as a celebration of links golf, is played over three of the world's best known and respected links courses - the Old Course at St Andrews, the Championship Course at Carnoustie and the highly regarded Kingsbarns Golf Links.

Joining the professionals were an enthusiastic group of talented amateur golfers including Marcus Allen, Ian Botham, Zinzan Brooke, Sir Bobby Charlton, Johan Cruyff, Kenny Dalglish, Michael Douglas, Morn? du Plessis, Jonathan Edwards, Hugh Grant, Ruud Gullit, Dennis Hopper, Ronan Keating, Kyle MacLachlan, Bill Murray, Sir Matthew Pinsent, Richard Ramsay, Sir Steve Redgrave, Tico Torres and Michael Vaughan.

Scottish golf fans had turned up in their thousands to watch what was expected to be a shoot-out over the Old Course between Harrington and Bradley Dredge for one of the most prestigious titles in golf. Harrington had started the round one shot behind the Welshman, but the championship was effectively decided by the events at the 174 yards, 11th hole. Dredge hit his shot into a deep bunker and had to play backwards to get out, eventually finishing with a double bogey five, while Harrington sank a 20 foot putt for a birdie. The three-shot swing gave Harrington a lead he never lost.

Harrington's last win on the European Tour was the German Masters in 2004, but he did pick up big wins at the Honda Classic and the Barclays Classic in the United States in 2005. This was his tenth win on the European Tour and the first prize of US Dollars 800,000 (approx GBP 430,000) gives an enormous boost to his chances of winning the European Tour Order of Merit for the first time.

He said:

'This was very, very special. I have a big picture of the 18th hole at St Andrews on one wall at home, and so I look at it every day I'm there. To see that scene before me on the 18th tee this afternoon, and to walk up the fairway knowing that I was going to win the tournament was something to savour. There is no more special place than this.

'I like the format of this event, and I like all three courses we play on because they are all different. Carnoustie is just a serious test, and Kingsbarns is a fun course where you can make a lot of birdies, but you can't beat St Andrews. The format of the event also suits me, because having the team element to it gives you something else to think about on the course. JP may be a man of few words, but they are always wise words and I find it very relaxing to have another outlet.

'The 11th was obviously important. After that Bradley played his way out of it a bit, and I began to concentrate on the guys coming behind me. I felt I needed to push on and get three or four under par and then the rest of the field would be realistically out of it,' added Harrington.

In addition to his problems at the 11th, Dredge also had bogeys at the 13th and the Road Hole to finish with a two over par 74. While he and Harrington were having their own private battle, the St Andrews galleries were being entertained by several strong challenges being mounted to catch the leaders, but no one could quite manage it.

England's Anthony Wall made the best attempt. He began his round with three straight birdies to be out in 31, but consecutive bogeys at the 13th and 14th cost him dearly and he finished on 67, while American Edward Loar, out in 32, struggled on the back nine with three bogeys and eventually shot 70.

World No.6 Ernie Els and World No.5 Vijay Singh were both expected to mount major challenges, but it did not happen. Neither had made much impression on the course when they both ran into trouble on the 465 yds, 13th with double bogeys. However while Singh eventually shot 74, Els produced his grandstand finish, driving the green at the 18th and sinking a ten foot putt for his eagle two to turn what looked like an average round into a two under par 70.

Harrington's exploits were matched by JP McManus, his playing partner in the team competition. Over four rounds McManus improved their team score by 19 shots to put them on 35 under and give them a five shot lead over father and son team Angel & Federico Cabrera. A further two shots back were Johan Edfors & Mats Andersson and Robert Karlsson & Dermot Desmond.

JP McManus said:

'It's wonderful for us to repeat the result from 2002 with Padraig winning the individual tournament and us both the team event. But the main difference this time is that we were really able to savour the moment and walk up the 18th knowing that we were both winners. That has crowned a great week for us, and one which we will remember for a long time. In 2002, although we had made sure of the team event before coming up the 18th, Padraig was still one shot behind in the individual tournament and so knew he needed to birdie the last to get into the play-off, which he eventually won.

'To have Padraig as a partner, and Scottish amateur Eric Ramsay as my caddie, was just a dream for me. I couldn't have asked for more. Eric first caddied for me in this event in 2002, when we won, so we have a great record. But he didn?t caddie for me last year because he himself was playing in the tournament.'

Fellow Irishman Dermot Desmond, who with professional Robert Karlsson finished seven shots behind the Harrington & McManus pairing, said: 'JP and I have a bit of a friendly rivalry at this event every year. We did have a little wager on the proceedings and sadly for me he's come out on top this time. I wouldn't say things went particularly wrong for me today, although I did three putt the 12th which didn't help. The fact is that both Paddy and JP just played very well. It's been an enjoyable tournament in any case, and I'll be back next year when I'll be looking to take the crown.'

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