Edoardo Molinari provides fitting finish to day of high drama at Gleneagles

• Edoardo Molinari celebrates as his Johnnie Walker championship win earns him a wildcard in the Ryder Cup team, alongside his brother Francesco, who had already qualified. Picture: SNS

At Loch Lomond in July, the 29-year-old from Turin had almost strolled to the Barclays Scottish Open title. This time he did it the hard way, losing a lead to be two shots behind with three to play before finishing with a hat-trick of birdies to pip Australian Brett Rumford for the 233,330 top prize.

Molinari, who closed with a one-under-par 71 for a ten-under-par total of 278, found the heart of the green at the 543-yard 16th with two mightly blows, rolled in a 30-footer for a 2 at the 17th before clinching victory with a delightful pitch to less than a foot at the last.

Earlier, Rumford had birdied the last two holes for a closing 70 to set the clubhouse target, but at least he had the consolation of a 155,550 second prize, finishing two shots ahead of the other Molinari, Francesco (75), Miguel Angel Jimenez (72) and Jamie Donaldson (69).

The win saw Molinari, now up to 15th in the world rankings, become the first player to win two European Tour events in Scotland in the same season. Both here and at Loch Lomond he was partnered his brother in the last match on the final day. "It is always great to win in Scotland," said the winner. "Loch Lomond was special due to the fact it was my breakthrough on the European Tour but to win here under pressure trying to get into the Ryder Cup is as good as that."

On a brisk day in Perthshire, interest in the final round was illustrated by the fact cars were still queuing back towards the A9 as the leaders were teeing off and, at first, it looked as though the Molinaris, on the back of matching birdies at the long second, were going to trade one exciting blow for another in a battle for the title.

Alas, the golf produced by last year's World Cup-winning combination between the third and 16th tees was not of the standard that had set up such an exciting conclusion to the event. They gave those shots back straight away, Edoardo, after finding sand with his approach, missing from five feet for par at the third, where he looked set to slip two behind until his sibling failed to hole a two-footer.

Three holes later, he was made to regret that even more when Edoardo joined him at the top of the leaderboard thanks to a birdie-2 at the short sixth, where he holed from 15 feet.After going out in two-under 34, Jimenez was breathing down the necks of the two leaders starting for home but fell two behind after a bogey at the tenth.

Edoardo became the leader on his own when Francesco three-putted the seventh, charging his first one well past the hole before they both dropped shots after missing short par putts at the next. That meant Jimenez, Rumford and Gregory Bourdy had all closed to within a stroke of the lead again as just about everyone started to move backwards in the blustery conditions.

The woes continued for the Italian brothers when they both ran up 6s at the long ninth, taking Edoardo out in 37 and Francesco in 39. With nine holes to play, Edoardo, on eight-under, led by a shot from five players - his brother, Bourdy, Rumford, Jimenez and Jamie Donaldson. At that point, Donaldson was safely in the clubhouse, the Welshman having made his move with a best-of-the day 69.

Jimenez, of course, also had Ryder Cup matters on his mind and, while a careless miss at the 17th cost him his chance of the title, the Spaniard certainly deserved credit for doing what he had to do here to hold on to one of the automatic spots.

As both Molinaris dropped back to seven-under with three holes to play, they suddenly found themselves two off the pace due to a strong finish from Rumford. After being unlucky not to birdie the long 16th, where his third hit the hole but spun about 20 feet away, he finished with a brace of birdies for a 70 to set the clubhouse target of nine-under.

Perhaps that had been the kick up the backside the Molinaris had been needing. Both birdied the 16th before Edorado raised the loudest roar of the day by far when he drained a 30-footer - it also had a good ten feet of break in it - at the short 17th to move level with Rumford.

Francesco, a shot behind the two leaders, saw his hopes disappear with a 6 at the last, but Edoardo, who was just short in two, produced a chip worthy of winning any tournament as he closed with a birdie.

The success came in only his third tournament with new caddie Colin Byrne on the bag and the Italian admitted: "Colin is as much a winner as me as he's been getting me to practise my chipping more than I have in the last six months." On his finish, he added: "It's a nice way to win."

Simon Dyson, needing a victory to have any chance of displacing either Jimenez or Peter Hanson from the last two automatic spots, started promisingly with a birdie at the second but had the wind taken out of his sails by back-to-back bogeys at the next two holes. To his credit, the Englishman fought to the bitter end, picking up three birdies in his last four holes to finish in a tie for sixth on six-under.To disappointment of the majority of those in the excellent last-day galleries, no doubt, hopes of a home winner in the shape of either Stephen Gallacher or Marc Warren had disappeared before either of them reached the turn.

Gallacher, who had started the day just two off the pace, dropped four shots in his first six holes to tumble out of contention. A first birdie of the day at the ninth took the 35-year-old out in 39, but further dropped shots followed at the tenth, 12th and 16th. A birdie to finish saw him sign of with a 77 for 285, three-under. "I got off to a bad start and it was just one of those days," said Gallacher after tying for 14th.

Two strokes behind his compatriot going into the final round, Warren was still six-under for the tournament after six straight pars but, from out of the blue, then ran up a damaging triple-bogey 7. That sparked a run that was to see the 2007 winner here drop a further nine shots over the last ten holes.