Padraig Harrington became the first European in over a century to retain the British Open title with a nerveless display down the stretch at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.

The Irishman, who came from six shots back to win at Carnoustie last year, played his final four holes in three under par as he overturned Greg Norman's two-shot overnight lead and left the rest of the field trailing with a final round 69.

That left him with a three-over total of 283 for four rounds played in some of the toughest conditions in Open history, four shots clear of Ian Poulter, who briefly shared the lead on the back nine.

"I convinced myself I could come back and win and I managed to get the job done," said Harrington.

Norman's dream of becoming the oldest winner of a major had died long before Harrington effectively clinched victory by drilling his five-wood second on the 572-yard 17th to within six feet of the pin for a majestic eagle.

By the time he had reached the 18th tee, the Dubliner's name had already been engraved for a second time on the Old Claret Jug, and a confident par on the final hole allowed him to banish memories of his double bogey at the 72nd hole at Carnoustie, where he eventually beat Sergio Garcia in a play-off.

"With a two-shot lead you are not comfortable but with a four-shot lead I knew I had it won. It was just a case of playing out in style. Very few people have won back-to-back majors -- it's a new level."

Norman's disappointing final round of 77 meant he had to settle for a share of third place with Henrik Stenson (71), a shot ahead of American Jim Furyk (71) and 20-year-old English amateur Chris Wood who had a 72.

"It was a good week," Norman said. "I'm disappointed for sure but at the end of the day, Padraig did a tremendous job and he is a deserving champion."

The win made Harrington the first British or Irish player to win back-to-back Opens since Scotland's James Braid's 1906.

It also ensured he will be in Europe's Ryder Cup team in September and represented a remarkable end to a week that had begun with the Irishman complaining of a wrist injury which would have forced him to withdraw from any other tournament.

For Norman, it was the seventh time in his career that he had led a major tournament at the start of the final round but failed to win, the only exception being when he won the first of his two Open titles in 1986.

That unwanted record would have been erased from the collective memory if he had managed to become the oldest winner of the major.

But the extraordinary nature of his challenge here may mean this particular Sunday will be easier to bear for a 53-year-old for whom the Open was the final leg of his honeymoon following his recent marriage to tennis legend Chris Evert and had originally been scheduled as a warm-up for next week's Seniors Open.

Harrington had turned the two-shot overnight deficit into a two-shot lead by the sixth hole as Norman struggled to reproduce his form of the opening three rounds.

But the Irishman then hit the buffers himself and three straight bogeys allowed Norman to reach the turn one stroke in front.

By that stage, KJ Choi's dream of becoming the first Asian to win a major had been critically compromised by a front nine of 40 and the South Korean eventually finished tied for 16th after a 79.

Norman had shown no signs of nerve as he split the fairway with his opening tee-shot. But four bogeys by the sixth handed the initiative to Harrington, who promptly handed it back by dropping shots at seven, eight and nine.

Both men sprayed their drives at the tenth but fortune favoured Harrington, who was able to salvage a par and reclaim the lead after bouncing through the thick stuff onto a grassy path.

The leaders' travails were allowing Poulter, five groups ahead of the leaders, to edge steadily up the leaderboard and the Englishman moved into the joint lead by sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on the 16th to move to one under for the day.

Within seconds, Norman's 12-footer for par had lipped out at the short 12th to leave him trailing by a shot.

With Poulter three-putting for par on the 17th, the momentum swung back to Harrington when he holed out from 12 feet for a three on the 13th, while Norman slipped further back after a visit to a fairway bunker.

Poulter punched the air with relief when he holed a 12-footer to par the last and set a clubhouse target of seven over par.

But Harrington would not permit any further celebrations from the Englishman and a birdie four at the 15th put him on the verge of history.

AFP

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