One shot victory gives Harrington perfect start to the new season

PADRAIG HARRINGTON began the new European Tour season in perfect fashion with an exciting one-shot victory at the BMW Asian Open in Taiwan.

He shot a last-round 69 for a 15-under-par total of 273, one better than India's Jyoti Randhawa, for his sixth tour title.

The win leaves him 250,000 US dollars better off rocketing him straight to the top of the 2003 Order of Merit after what was officially the first counting event.