Denmark's Steen Tinning was the shock winner of the Telefonica Madrid Open on Sunday as Padraig Harrington blew a great chance to take over at the top of Europe's Order of Merit.

Harrington, one shot ahead with a round to play, fell to joint seventh place with an error ridden one over par 72 - and among the players he shared that spot with was Retief Goosen.

It means the South African stays just under £34,000 ahead with two events to come, but the Ryder Cup Irishman still has an advantage.

He plays this week's Italian Open while Goosen is in America at their Tour Championship.

"I had a bad day on the greens," said a bitterly disappointed Harrington.

"This was a great chance, it really was. It was there for me to do and for some reason the putts were just not dropping."

And this on a Club de Camp course where he had won twice before.

Tinning, who has come back from three career-threatening injuries, eventually triumphed after the lead changed an amazing 26 times in the last 15 holes.

Having fired a third round 62 that equalled the lowest round of his tour life, the 30-year-old from Copenhagen took the £146,507 first prize with a 67 for a 19 under par total of 269.

He finished one ahead of Londoner Brian Davis, Scot Andrew Coltart and Australian Adam Scott.

It was Scott who led with two holes to play, but he bunkered his tee shot to the short 17th and then left a four foot downhill putt short after Tinning had holed from 25.

When the Dane hit his approach to under 10 feet on the last Scott knew he had to birdie, but his 20-foot effort rolled just wide.

In 1990 Tinning and his wife Anne were lucky to escape with their lives after a multiple car crash in which his right arm was detached and his left was left dangling by skin and muscle.

He was out for 18 months and after eventually returning lost his card in 1996.

After fighting his way back onto the circuit he then suffered a broken thumb in 1999 when he was struck by a wayward drive from an amateur while picking up balls on a driving range.

Two years ago he won the Wales Open at Celtic Manor, but this time last year Tinning thought he had played his last-ever event because of back trouble.

"I didn't say goodbye to people, but in my mind I was finished," he stated.

"I birdied the last three holes of the BMW International in Germany and thought that was a proper way to finish.

"My back was giving me so many problems just to get to the first tee. I was in the physio unit two or three times a day and there was no solution. It just kept on hurting."

Tinning took four months off exercising and at last felt able to return. But even now he does not play more than three events in a row.

With Harrington three-putting three times in the first eight holes - and that after holing from three and 12 feet for birdies on the first two greens - Tinning moved into a two-stroke lead.

But by bogeying the ninth and 10th he allowed not only Harrington, Davis and Scott to share the lead, but also Welshman Bradley Dredge and former Open champion Paul Lawrie.

Coltart also grabbed a share of top spot by sinking birdie putts of 25 and 30 feet on the final two greens for a 64.

Davis, third last year after a closing 62, almost repeated that, but his bunker shot at the last just stayed out.

It was nevertheless a great effort from the 28-year-old, who married the daughter of former England goalkeeper Ray Clemence last Sunday and, not having practised for a week, thought it would be a miracle if he made the halfway cut.

The 422-yard 16th was vital in Tinning's win - even though he bogeyed it.

From a fairway bunker he caught the lip and flew into the trees. He was back in sand - deliberately - with his third, but made a 10-footer to drop only one stroke.

Scott had holed from 15 feet to go in front, but roles were reversed on the next and that decided the title.

In nearly 350 tour events Tinning has finished in the top three only twice.

Yet both were wins and the latest win takes him up from 85th to 41st on the money list.

Collated final round totals in the Telefonica Madrid Open at Club de Campo, Madrid, Spain (Gbr and Irl unless stated, par 71):

265 Steen Tinning (Den) 68 68 62 67 (£146,507)

266 Brian Davis 65 72 66 63, Andrew Coltart 66 68 68 64, Adam Scott (Aus) 67 65 66 68 (£65,550 each)

267 Bradley Dredge 71 65 67 64 (£37,272)

268 Paul Lawrie 70 64 69 65 (£30,767)

269 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 66 69 67 67, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 66 65 68 70, Padraig Harrington 65 66 66 72

270 Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 69 68 65 68, Des Smyth 69 63 69 69, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 70 66 65 69

271 Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 65 65 72 69

272 Anders Hansen (Den) 68 67 69 68, Santiago Luna (Spa) 69 67 68 68, Nick O'Hern (Aus) 66 70 65 71, Lee Westwood 64 70 66 72

273 David Howell 72 68 68 65, Ian Poulter 70 69 67 67, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 70 69 67 67, Markus Brier (Aut) 66 69 69 69, Marten Olander (Swe) 67 66 70 70, Miles Tunnicliff 70 63 70 70, Paul Casey 70 65 67 71

274 Mark Foster 74 67 65 68, Andrew Oldcorn 69 71 66 68, Sam Torrance 67 66 71 70

275 Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 70 72 65 68, Jamie Donaldson 69 68 69 69, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 71 66 69 69, John Bickerton 73 68 69 65, David Gilford 72 68 71 64

276 Tomas Jesus Munoz (Spa) 68 69 70 69, Jorge Berendt (Arg) 68 73 70 65, Steve Webster 70 68 66 72, Fredrik Jacobson (Swe) 68 66 69 73

277 Stephen Scahill (Nzl) 66 72 69 70, Rolf Muntz (Ned) 71 67 69 70, Anthony Wall 69 67 70 71, Jose Manuel Carriles (Spa) 69 68 70 70, Joakim Haeggman (Swe) 72 67 70 68, Miguel Angel Martin (Spa) 69 66 68 74

278 Diego Borrego (Spa) 67 70 70 71, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 67 70 71 70, Gary Orr 68 68 69 73, Mark Mouland 69 70 70 69, Roger Chapman 67 70 67 74, Soren Hansen (Den) 69 73 68 68, Brett Rumford (Aus) 72 70 68 68

279 Warren Bennett 70 68 69 72, Robert-Jan Derksen (Ned) 70 68 70 71, Ian Garbutt 73 67 69 70, Chris Gane 71 69 69 70

280 Christopher Hanell (Swe) 67 71 71 71, Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 68 72 71 69, Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 68 72 71 69, Stephen Gallacher 72 70 70 68, Simon Dyson 69 70 74 67

281 Grant Hamerton 70 72 68 71, Lucas Parsons (Aus) 70 72 72 67

282 Alvaro Salto (Spa) 71 66 70 75, Carlos Balmaseda (Spa) 67 72 70 73, Paul Eales 72 70 68 72, Gary Evans 69 72 70 71, Mark James 71 67 73 71, Stephen Dodd 71 69 73 69, Johan Rystrom (Swe) 71 69 69 73, Peter Fowler (Aus) 71 71 72 68

283 Sebastien Delagrange (Fra) 74 66 70 73, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 70 70 73 70, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 69 68 76 70

284 Jose Rivero (Spa) 68 73 69 74, Malcolm Mackenzie 69 73 73 69

285 Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 76 65 77 67

286 Gordon Brand Jnr 69 72 74 71

290 Greg Owen 70 72 75 73

294 Gregory Havret (Fra) 73 69 72 80

301 Olle Karlsson (Swe) 71 71 77 82