Padraig Harrington picked up a big cheque on Sunday as he finished fourth at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Shane Lowry went into the final round in a tie for the lead, but slipped down the leaderboard on an action packed afternoon in the Middle East.
France's Victor Perez ran out the winner after a final round six-under par 66, with Harrington hitting a five-under par 67 to finish behind the winner, Sebastian Söderberg and Min Woo Lee.
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Harrington's final round included seven birdies and two bogeys, while Lowry hit four birdies, as well as five bogeys and a triple bogey to finish in a tie for 28th.
Waterford's Seamus Power enjoyed a much better final round, which included an eagle, four birdies and three bogeys as he finished in a tie for 20th.
Harrington received €413,000 for finishing third, with the winner picking up a cheque for over €1.4million.
While former Open winners Lowry and Molinari faded, Australian Lee stayed in contention and managed to draw level after Perez dropped a shot at the 14th at Yas Links.
Perez, who finished runner-up here in 2020, responded impressively with an immediate birdie at the 15th before holing his bunker shot at the 17th for another gain and a two-shot lead.
It looked unassailable before he found another bunker and then the penalty area on the 18th but he took his medicine with a bogey to finish on a victorious 18-under-par total.
Lee and Swede Sebastian Soderberg finished tied for second after shooting 68 and 67 respectively, while Padraig Harrington, who at 51 was bidding to become the oldest winner on the DP World Tour, was fourth on his own on 16 under after closing with a 67.
An emotional Perez reflected on his birdie on the 17th as the “greatest” of his life.
The dramatic finish did not quite match his Dutch Open triumph in May, where he needed a play-off before he won on the fourth extra hole, but he admitted to hoping for a more routine victory next time.
“It is probably the greatest shot I ever hit,” Perez said of his birdie on the 17th.
“I got off to a good start and was trying to just focus on me, do the best I can because I know I can’t control what everybody else is doing. I was trying to plod along but Seb played fantastic and he was always right there.
“I am just delighted to finish on top because it was a crazy finish but I feel like I am used to that now! Hopefully I can make it a little easier for the next.
“It is a great year ahead. There are a lot of big things coming up. I’ve had a really good off-season, I’ve worked really hard.”
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