Harrington again denied top spot
The 25-year-old denied Harrington a glorious return to The Belfry, scene of last September's Ryder Cup victory, with a four-stroke triumph.
Casey, joint leader with Harrington and New Zealander Stephen Scahill overnight, captured the £183,330 first prize thanks to a closing 71 in the blustery conditions for an 11 under par total of 277.
Following as it does his triumph in the ANZ Championship in Sydney in February, the former English amateur champion he won that twice now stands second on the European Order of Merit behind Ernie Els.
And if he can stay there for two more weeks, a US Open debut next month will be his.
"I used that as an incentive and for some reason I was not nervous," he said.
"I've not enjoyed last rounds in the past, but I did today.
"It means a great deal to win this. I made my European tour debut here two years ago on an invitation and was 12th. That really started things off for me," he said.
The hole he will look back most fondly on was the 545-yard 15th. Having just double-bogeyed the short 14th to go from four ahead to only two, he crunched a drive and three-wood into the 'howling' wind onto the green and two-putted for birdie.
"I just can't hit it any further than that. I defy anybody else to hit two better shots," he added.
Harrington still took away £122,220 and there is no need to feel too sorry for him.
He earned £381,333 for finishing second at the Players' Championship in Florida in March and has made an estimated £2million from all his near-misses in his career.
But he dearly wanted to win this one not only because it was the final B&H event before a government ban on tobacco sponsorship comes into force, and not only because it would give him almost as many good memories of The Belfry as Sam Torrance.
There was also the matter of three years ago. He led by five then with a round to go, but was disqualified without hitting another shot after the chance discovery that he had forgotten to sign his first round scorecard.
It would have been fitting if he had come back from that traumatic experience to put his name on the trophy at the very last opportunity. But it was not to be.
"Everything was going to plan until I got complacent over a short putt at the ninth," he said.
"I don't know if it upset me, but I had 10 putts after that which I thought were going in and didn't.
"They just kept falling out rather than falling in. But Paul's a class act, a good player who's a strong hitter of the ball."
Joint third were Scahill, Dutchman Rolf Muntz and former Open champion Paul Lawrie, who had a hole-in-one with a seven-iron at the seventh and would have been second on his own but for going in the lake at the last and double-bogeying.
As he said, things began well enough for Harrington when he holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the first. But Casey, playing behind him, birdied the fifth and sixth to nose in front.
Harrington three-putted the ninth, missing from little more than two feet, but Casey took five there as well after a bad drive and looked likely to be back on level terms when he carved his drive wide of the 11th fairway.
Instead, however, he finished the hole two ahead. As he made a 20-footer for par Harrington three-putted again on the next.
The gap was three when Casey converted a 15-foot chance there and it was four when the Irishman bogeyed the short 14th.
The same hole gave Casey his one horrible moment after he fired his tee shot wildly right, but the next put him back in firm control and with Harrington taking six on the long 17th, it was effectively all over.
Earlier Sweden's Richard Johnson had broken the course record with a 64.
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