Hong Kong Open: Padraig Harrington was left with yet another runners-up finish - to his name yesterday as Ryder Cup team-mate Miguel Angel Jimenez pipped him to the Omega Hong Kong Open title.

The 40-year-old Spaniard's fifth victory of 2004 forced defending champion Harrington to settle for the 25th second place of his career - on a day which also saw Nick Faldo fail in his bid to end nearly eight years without a victory.

Only a stroke off the lead with 18 holes to play, Faldo finished joint sixth.

While both he and Harrington came off the 18th green disappointed it was actually South African James Kingston who had cause to be the most dejected.

Level with Jimenez with two to play Kingston, seeking his first European Tour title, rolled home a 35-foot birdie putt on the 17th.

But Jimenez dramatically followed him in from 25 feet to get back on terms and then Kingston hooked his final drive against a fence.

He was forced to take a penalty drop and did well to rescue a bogey five, but the Malaga golfer was only eight feet from the flag in two and had two putts for the trophy.

A closing 66, which matched the lowest score of the day, gave Jimenez the €100,338 first prize with a 14-under-par total of 266, three shots better than Harrington's aggregate last year.

Harrington, who bagged €52,287, had been four behind with only five holes to play but birdied the 14th and 15th and after missing from eight feet at the next hit his approach to four feet on the 406-yard 17th.

There seemed every chance he would make it a three-way tie walking to the final tee, but his two playing partners thwarted him and as it was the Dubliner had to make a 30-foot putt on the last just to have a chance of a play-off. He left it short.

Harrington said afterwards that it was what happened earlier that cost him his first successful defence of any title and gave him his fifth runners-up finish this year.

"I missed six to eight putts and putted badly all day. The 17th was irrelevant," he commented.

"I won from one behind with two to play last year and it was not looking too bad again. But that's the way it goes - and I needed to finish second here to stay sixth in the world."

Both he and Jimenez now fly to California for the Target World Challenge hosted by Tiger Woods.

Jimenez said: "Five wins this year is amazing - you don't think you are going to win that much.

"And with Vijay Singh having nine wins (at age 41) it proves that golf is not just for young people. It's a long-life sport."

Faldo's next appearance will be the Heineken Classic in Melbourne in February and he will have a new caddie then. Long-time bag-carrier Fanny Sunesson has decided to pursue other interests, although she says she will still make the occasional appearance.

"I needed more trust in my swing," said the 47-year-old following his 71. "I made only one putt and it was not good enough, that's the bottom line. There was no margin for error and if it didn't come off I was stuffed. But there was lots of good stuff and I'll work on the good bits."

It was still his best finish since he was fourth in the Volvo PGA Championship.

Ireland's other qualifier, Damien McGrane, shot a final round of 68 for a total of 278 and a share of 29th place.