Ross is the boss at European Open

LONDON (AFP) - Ross Fisher completed a brilliant week with a wire-to-wire victory in the European Open at the London Club on Sunday.

The 27-year-old Englishman, all but assured of victory as he walked down the final fairway, finished in fairytale fashion as he chipped in from a greenside bunker on the 18th for a 20-under par total of 268, seven shots ahead of second-placed Spaniard Sergio Garcia.

It set the seal on a memorable few days for Fisher who, not content with qualifying for the British Open at Royal Birkdale later this month, followed up with a course record 63 in the first round of this event having never played the London Club before.

Fisher's victory moves him from 21st to 11th place in the Ryder Cup standings and on the verge of becoming an automatic pick for Nick Faldo's European team to play the United States.

"Just a great week," said Fisher. "I felt really calm all day, very composed, comfy with my game.

"I got my fair share of luck as well - at the last I was just thinking, 'Try and put it on the green'. I'm delighted."

For Fisher, victory banished a couple of golfing demons. In November he led the HSBC Champions event in Shanghai by one shot with one to play with his closest challenger, Phil Mickelson, in the water on the last.

But Fisher chipped beyond the green and into the lake. He took a double-bogey seven and then lost a play-off.

He had previously been in contention to win the PGA Championship on his Wentworth home course in southern England as joint leader with a round to play only to then card a closing 84.

This success proved his victory in last year's KLM Open in the Netherlands wasn't a one-off and Fisher said: "They say the second win is harder. I might have made it look easy, but it certainly wasn't."

Asked about a Ryder Cup debut, he replied: "I'd love it, but it's still a long way off."

Nothern Ireland's Graeme McDowell took third place despite a closing 73. But that still left him in the 10th and final automatic Ryder Cup place.

Veteran South African David Frost was a fourth a - finish that saw the 48-year-old take the British Open exemption spot on offer at this tournament.

Although wet and windy conditions on Sunday made life tough for much of the field, that didn't stop Fisher making an eagle on the fifth courtesy of a 50-foot putt.

And he then cemented his position atop the leaderboard with birides on the 12th and 15th as well as on the last when he holed out from the sand.

Open champion Padraig Harrington, a huge 18 shots adrift after a fourth round three over par 75, said Fisher's victory was no shock to him.

"I don't think any player out here would be surprised at Ross's performance," the Irishman said.

"He is well capable of doing this and more regularly."

Garcia, runner-up to Harrington at last year's Open after bogeying the last, when a par would have seen him break his Major duck, and then losing a play-off, was pleased he only needed 21 putts on Sunday in a round of 66.

"I would expect to putt like that every single round. I'd love to, it would be an easy game. Now I feel what Tiger (Woods) feels 90 percent of the time on the greens - it's a great feeling."

Colin Montgomerie, runner-up in last week's French Open, closed with a disappointing 77 which left him in 24th place.

The Scot, 14th in the Ryder Cup points standings, will look for a better display in front of his home fans in next week's Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, one of the final warm-up events before the Open itself starts on July 17.