Harrington disqualified minutes before last round

Runaway leader Padraig Harrington was dramatically disqualified from the Benson and Hedges International Open before his final round at The Belfry today - for forgetting to sign his scorecard on Thursday.

The news was announced half an hour before Harrington was due to tee off.

The Irishman had been five strokes clear of Jose Maria Olazabal and Welshman Phil Price, but they were left as joint leaders, four ahead of the 19-year-old Australian amateur Adam Scott.

The European Tour's senior referee Andy McFee explained: "The Belfry Hotel spoke to us this morning and asked if we could get the cards of all potential winners so they could frame them.

"In the process our staff noticed that while his first-round card had two signatures on it, neither was Padraig's.

"Nowhere is there an attestation from the player that the round is accurate and that is a breach of the rules. The penalty is disqualification."

McFee spoke to Harrington as he was warming up on the driving range and took him alongside to give them the devastating news.

"We all know he is an extremely level-headed person and he near there was nowhere else to go. I suspect he is desperately disappointed - we all are.

"I asked him to show me his signature and he couldn't. For some reason Michael Campbell had signed all three cards for the group and it was his signature where Harrington's was supposed to be.

"This goes to the very core of the game. Golf is not played in the constant gaze of a referee and because of that it is very easy to do things that aren't correct.

"You have to hold up your card to the rest of the world. It's a core principal.

"I wish to Hell it hadn't happened."

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