Padraig Harrington missed a great chance to get back on the winning trail as he blew a three-stroke lead on the back nine at the Czech Masters.
Italy’s Andrea Pavan produced a brilliant finish to claim his first win on the European Tour in Prague.
Five birdies on the back nine saw him sign for a five-under par 67 and a two-stroke win on 22 under.
Harrington looked in command having led for most of the round, including holding a two-shot advantage on the 15th tee.
However, looking for his first tournament win since the Portugal Masters in 2016, Harrington could only manage a round of 69.
The Dubliner started off as joint leader with Pavan but established a two-stroke lead after just two holes, recording a birdie on the first before the Italian bogeyed the next hole.
Bit of perspective on a still great week for HARRINGTON. Since he finished 4th at the Turkish Airlines Open in Nov 2017, his best finish was 36th. He’s missed 12 of 20 cuts since then & 5 of his last 6 weekends. Still a disappointment for P. A level par back 9 just wasn’t enough.
— Greg Allen (@gregallenRTE) August 26, 2018
Harrington’s third birdie on nine gave him a three-stroke lead at the turn.
Pavan, in his 112th appearance on the European Tour, then got back to within a stroke on 12 before Harrington almost landed a hole in one on 13.
However, the world-ranked number 253 responded with birdies on 14 and 16, while Harrington missed a relatively easy putt on 15 to record just his second bogey of the week.
That left the 29-year-old one shot ahead on 21 under with two to play.
Back-to-back birdies for Pavan.
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 26, 2018
He leads by two heading to 18. pic.twitter.com/3EWj4qvYxw
A birdie attempt from Harrington on the 17th just faded over the last few inches, while Pavan’s effort dropped.
The triple major winner needed a two-stroke swing on the last but both men parred the hole and Pavan claimed his sixth win as a professional and moved up to 41 in the Race to Dubai.
Congratulations @AndreaPavan89!
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 26, 2018
Winner of the D+D Real Czech Masters 🏆 pic.twitter.com/7Il23t4wbh
Malaysia's Gavin Green was three strokes behind Harrington in third.
Pavan told Sky Sports: "I can't believe it to be honest. Coming down the back nine trailing Padraig since the beginning, he was playing really well and not making any mistakes and I just knew I needed to stay aggressive and it was amazing to finish this way.
"To birdie 16 and 17 was unreal. You know when you go against such a great player that you have to stay aggressive and that was my mentality today.
"This week everything seemed to work; my driving has been a struggle for years and this year I found a new driver in Australia and it seemed to be working much better.
"Even if this week it wasn't key, the putting the first three days was unbelievable."
