Padraig Harrington celebrated a first European Tour title in over eight years but only after a heart-stopping final hole to win the 10th anniversary Portugal Masters at Vilamoura.

Harrington collected his 30th pro career victory, and a first on European soil since winning the 2008 Open Championship and just weeks prior his PGA Championship success, with a round of 65 to finish a shot clear of England’s Andy Sullivan on 23-under par.

Dane and semi-retired Anders Hansen (68) along with Finn Mikko Korhonen (68),  shared third place on 21-under par and with Korhoren securing his 2017 Tour card in jumping from 116th on the Race to Dubai and end his year in 86th place.

Padraig Harrington wins on European soil for a first time in eight years. (Photo – Thanks to European Tour)

Harrington, after cannoning his second shot down the 72nd hole off the front of a greenside grandstand and into rough, managed then to chip to three foot past the hole before the delight in seeing his ball disappear into the cup for a winning par.

And while long-time caddy, Ronan Flood grabbed the 18th flag, Harrington’s huge following of Irish supporters were clearly delighted.

“I haven’t won yet this year, so I know the year is nearly done, it’s always important to get a win every year, a winning year,” he said.

“It’s a big win. Portugal Masters is a big tournament. I’ve been coming here for ten years so I’ve always liked it down here. I’ve always liked coming down to Portugal.

“There’s so many Irish people here. It always felt like a home away from home, so it’s really nice to win the tournament.

“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.”

In fact, Harrington’s had 2 wins in the ’90s, 24 in the ’00s and now four in the ’10s, and his last before this week being the 2015 Honda Classic on the PGA Tour.