But that lengthy dry spell came to end on Sunday with an unblemished final round six under 65 to reach 23 under, which saw him stave off England’s Andy Sullivan (65) to claim the Portugal Masters by a single stroke. Denmark’s Anders Hansen (68) and Finland’s Mikko Korhonen (68) were a further shot back on 21 under.

The win – Harrington’s 15th on the European Tour – will further fuel his confidence as he continues to push higher in the world ranking. He’s now at No.97, having not been in the top-100 since mid-2015. 

"I hadn'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.

FINAL LEADERBOARD

"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.

“My putting has turned the corner recently. Actually I putted very well from medium-range to outer ranges this week. I putted good, short putts, even though I did miss a few earlier on in the week but my chipping was outstanding this week. I don't think I failed to get up-and-down at all this week, and had a couple of chip-ins and a holed bunker shot.

“When I go back and look at my stats for scrambling this week, I would say I was better than 100 percent. Well, 100 percent is up-and-down every time. I actually think with my three chip-ins, I probably didn't fail to get up-and-down twice. So that would leave me in positive territory.”

Despite having won on the PGA Tour in 2015, the eight year gap between victories on the European Tour had not been playing on his mind. He just wants to win no matter where he tees it up.

“I've been winning elsewhere over the last number of years. I won last year in the States and I've won a few in Asia. I've been winning enough to keep me going but it is nice to win in Europe and it's always important to win in each decade,” he said.

“For me winning is what it's all about. You have the guys that are trying to keep their card, and that's an awful position to be in. Its terrible pressure and stress.

Padraig Harrington's wedge and greenside play was superb during the four rounds. PHOTO: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images.

“In my situation, I'm just trying to add wins to my C.V. every tournament I play, and sometimes that doesn't work in my favour, either. But other times, you know, I'm down here to win. It's all about trying to get a win and yeah, it's nice to do it. As I said, 2016 now is a winning year.”

West Australian Jason Scrivener had back-to-back rounds of 67 over the weekend to finish T17, which was his best result since his T7 at the Mauritius Open back in May. Brett Rumford was a further shot back at 15 under and T22.