Jeev Milkha Singh was counting his blessings today after claiming a thrilling one-stroke victory over Padraig Harrington and Ernie Els at the Barclays Singapore Open.

The Indian ace carried a narrow one-shot edge into the final hole in the US 5 million Asian Tour event after a tense final round at Sentosa Golf Club’s Serapong course but squandered his opportunity to secure the win when his 12ft birdie attempt curled just past the hole.

But Harrington pushed his five-foot birdie attempt wide before Els saw his 15-footer stop on the edge of the cup, giving Singh the title.

“The way I’m going to record it is that I played very good but I think I was very fortunate the golfing gods were on my side,” said Singh, who closed with a two-under-par 69 for a seven-under 277 total.

“I think those two guys (Harrington and Els) hit some good putts on the last hole and I was fortunate enough to win and I’ll take it.

“I’m excited about it. I’m happy I could win against the top players of the world and this will give me a lot of confidence and hopefully go on to bigger things in life.”

Singh and Harrington began the final round in a tie for seventh on five under but both managed three birdies on the front nine to surge to the top of the leaderboard.

With third round leader Chapchai Nirat of Thailand struggling, the tournament developed into a duel between the pair with the Indian edging ahead on the 16th after a moment of bad fortune for the Irishman.

Hitting from the rough, Harrington saw his approach shot pitch eight feet from the pin before rolling off the putting surface and into the water for a double bogey that put him one stroke behind Singh.

“That was a bad break for him,” Singh said. “That happens in golf and I guess it’s sad what happened.”

Harrington, a winner of two majors this season, did not want to make too much of the costly hole, which resulted in his only dropped shots of they day.

Unlucky

“I had a couple of chances at the end but I wouldn’t say that cost me,” said the world number five, who fired a closing 70 to finish in a tie for second with Els on six under.

“I had a couple of good breaks earlier on and I was able to hold it together. The shot to 16 for the double bogey was unlucky and I hit a lovely shot into the last and I was six inches away from having a chance for eagle.

“I’ve holed some great putts at the right time this year. I’m not going to feel good about this one for the next couple of hours but when I look back at my year I won’t find it too bad.

“I’m delighted for Jeev but I’ll look back at my year and I am happy with it.”

Els, who began the day a shot ahead of Singh, had a frustrating day with only one birdie, an 18-footer on the 16th, in his closing 71.

“The gods were not with me. They all looked like they were going in. The one on 17 just missed at the bottom left, the one on 15 was just over the edge,” said the South African. “It shows that golf is just a game of inches.

“It could have been a win but Jeev is a great guy and I’m happy for him.”

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and David Gleeson of Australia carded 69s to finish tied for fourth on five under with Charlie Wi (72) a further shot back on four under.

Chapchai struggled to a closing 78 to finish in a tie for seventh with Thomas Bjorn (74) on three under, one shot ahead of world number three Phil Mickelson, who was alone in ninth on two under after a closing 75.

Victory in Asia’s richest national open sent Singh to the top of the Asian Tour Order of Merit with over US 1.4 million in winnings, all but guaranteeing him his second Order of Merit title in three years.

“I won the Order of Merit in 2006 and if I can do it right now, it would be great.

“Winning any Order of Merit, anywhere in the world, especially in Asian Tour where I started from would be great.

“This Tour has given me a lot and if I can do it again, that would be fantastic.”