Pádraig Harrington knows a thing or two about finishing second, and if he had time to give Rory McIlroy advice after the Holywood star’s latest runner-up finish in the BMW PGA Championship yesterday, it would be to keep putting his neck on the line.

By his own admission, the Holywood star has made a habit of hitting the wrong shot at the wrong time this year and arrived at Wentworth with three runner-up finishes on his CV this season, including a painful collapse in the US Open at Pinehurst.

A 71st hole three-putt allowed a remarkable Ramus Hojgaard to steal the Irish Open from under his nose at Royal County Down last Sunday week. But while he lost out to Billy Horschel’s 30-foot eagle putt at the second hole of a sudden-death playoff yesterday, the world number three should not reproach himself for his latest near miss.

If there is a question mark over the 34th runner-up finish of his career — one more than Harrington, who finished a brilliant tied 12th yesterday at the age of 53 — it would be his decision to go for the 18th in two when he was clearly between clubs.

The Co Down man does not carry a three-iron and facing 253 yards to the pin and 225 yards to the front, he could not resist the temptation to hit a big draw with a four-iron as he sought the birdie he needed to win outright.

It came up so short and so far left that he was fortunate not to see his title hopes end in a watery grave there and then.

But it was a chance only made possible by his extraordinary eagle three at the 17th, where he hit two world-class shots to 47 feet and rolled home the eagle putt to tie with South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence on 20-under.

By rights, the strapping 27-year-old from Mbombela had every reason to wonder what might have been as he failed to birdie either of the closing par-fives and shot 65 to find himself in a playoff with McIlroy and Horschel, who both shot 69s.

There was to be no fairytale win for Matteo Manassero, who turned for home a shot ahead of Aaron Rai on 18-under and two ahead of Lawrence and an out-of-sorts McIlroy, who is working on subtle swing changes.

Despite struggling with his swing, especially his short irons, McIlroy birdied the 12th and 14th to head down the stretch, needing at least two birdies to catch Lawrence.

Chances slipped by at the 15th and 16th but his eagle at the 17th was another example of his extraordinary talent and another reason to believe that his run of near misses — four this year and eight since the 2022 Masters — will end sooner or later.

In the end, Horschel birdied the 17th and 18th to come up on the rails and sneak into the playoff, where he followed McIlroy in from six feet for birdie to set up a second tie hole as Lawrence exited with a bogey.

The American (37) is an extraordinary putter and after watching McIlroy’s 35 footer slip by, he allowed himself only a gentle fist pump and a smile as he won at Wentworth for the second time in four years.

McIlroy was disappointed but not downhearted considering he’s working on getting his swing ready for 2025.

Just as Harrington did a decade ago, he’ll continue to put his neck on the line.

“When I was two or three behind, going into the back nine, I knew I needed to shoot four or five under to have a chance. And I did that, and played the playoff holes  well.

Unfortunately,, Billy just held that putt on the on the second one. And you know, when you give yourself so many chances, these things are going to happen. I’m proud of how I played this week, I can only leave with my head held high and just keep turning up and keep trying.

“The things that I'm trying to do in my golf swing, I sort of revert back to old habits when you get under the gun, like everyone does. But I think if I keep working on the things I'm working on, on the range, I think that only bodes well for the future.

“To be able to  work on my swing, but still go out there and and have a really good chance to win. You know, I'm really proud of that."

“I probably haven't put two rounds back-to-back here bogey-free at Wentworth in my career,” Harrington said. “Nice to see some nice positives in my game, and I’m looking forward to trying to get the best out of them now over the next couple of weeks.

“I’ve got the Dunhill and then I've got four in the Champions Tour. So plenty of positives.

Tom McKibbin claimed his eighth top-10 of an excellent season, closing with a six-under 66 to finish tied for 10th on 13-under par and remain in the hunt for one of 10 PGA Tour cards.

It was also a memorable day for veteran Harrington (53), who went bogey free over the weekend, closing with rounds of 66 and 68 to share 12th place with Shane Lowry, who shot 67, on 12-under.

“I probably haven't put two rounds back-to-back here bogey-free at Wentworth in my career,” said Harrington, who had to birdie the 18th on Friday to make the cut.

Lowry described Friday and Saturday as “frustrating” and while he racked up valuable world ranking and Race to Dubai points, he’s still seeking his first individual win since the 2022 BMW PGA.

“Ultimately, I'm here looking for bigger things than that,” he said as he prepares to round off a run of ten events in 11 weeks with appearances in the Spanish Open and the Dunhill Links over the next fortnight.