'Winning here is a big boost to my confidence'

SATISFACTION was written all over Pádraig Harrington's face here yesterday as he clutched a cheque for stg£322,474 and held aloft a trophy that meant even more.

Harrington beat Ryder Cup team-mate Thomas Bjorn at the first hole of a play-off for the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open in Hamburg and answered a few questions of himself into the bargain.

The victory moved him top of the European Order of Merit and, perhaps more importantly, spared him the 20th runners-up finish of his career.