Karlsson stands tall as European No 1

Robert Karlsson was not planning any wild celebrations last night after becoming the first Swede to win the European Tour's Order of Merit. Yet that had nothing to do with any sense of anti-climax on his part in finishing down in 31st here at the Volvo Masters.

"There will not be the time," explained Karlsson. "I have to catch a plane to Paris tonight, then take a 45-minute taxi across town to the other airport and then catch a flight to Shanghai." Once there he will begin his preparations for the HSBC Champions Tournament, which just happens to be the first event of the new season.

In golfing terms, 2008 is already a memory. But what an enduring memory it will be for Karlsson, the golfer measuring 6ft 5in who at last has a trophy to match the stature.

With Padraig Harrington never challenging for the top-two position he needed here to leapfrog his Ryder Cup partner, it was left to Lee Westwood to go for the £561,000 first prize he required. Alas the Englishman tied for fourth with Sergio Garcia.

Instead the honour of winning the final Volvo Masters went to another Scandinavian in Denmark's Soren Kjeldsen. His eight-under total for a two-stroke success over London's Anthony Wall and Germany's Martin Kaymer was a fitting show of excellence for an event which has held such pride of place in European golf for the last 21 years.

It would have been ideal if the curtains could have fallen with a dramatic denouement, particularly after the downpours of Friday and Saturday had forced the pacesetters to rush through 30 holes yesterday. But nothing should be taken away from Kjeldsen.

Or, indeed, from Karlsson. He has been regarded as a massive talent ever since he joined the Tour in 1991. This year the 39-year-old has been positively scary in his ever-looming presence on the leaderboards. He has had 11 top-10 placings out of his last 15 events. In any other campaign it would have been scandalous for Harrington, with his back-to-back majors, not to be crowned European No 1, but it says much for the victor that the Dubliner, himself, recognises his quality. "Robert fully deserves it," said Harrington.

Karlsson's next challenge will be to replicate the Irishman, who went on from his own Order of Merit in 2006 to collect three majors in the succeeding two years. For now, though, Karlsson is content to have emerged out of the shadow of his two countrymen, Jesper Parnevik and Henrik Stenson. And then there is Annika Sorenstam. The finest women to have ever picked up a club won yet again yesterday as she winds down her career. Her victory came at Suzhou, near Shanghai. "The interest in golf in Sweden at the moment is huge," said Karlsson.

Order of Merit (Final standings): 1 R Karlsson (Swe) £2,171,087.47; 2 P Harrington (Irl) £1,953,689.29; 3 L Westwood (Eng) £1,926,306.15.