On Saturday afternoon I overheard a couple of journalists talking about what they considered to be a fairly lacklustre tournament.

“I don’t know what it is,” said one. “I just haven’t fallen in love with this Open yet.”

Well how do you like them apples now?

Carnoustie might not be the most accessible, beautiful or glamorous venue on the Open rotation (and it is certainly not the warmest) but my God does it know how to stage a final act.

I can’t think of a more exciting finish to a golf tournament in my lifetime. I might be wrong. Maybe I was too close to it. But for me it had everything.

What Jean Van de Velde must have been thinking back in France is anybody’s guess, but I would like to think he was smiling sympathetically whilst thanking his lucky stars that he will no longer be the poster boy for Carnoustie calamities.

That baton will now be passed to Sergio Garcia and Andres Romero, and of the two there is no doubt who will be hurting more now.

As Garcia and Harrington marched up the first hole of their play-off, I could not decide if this was a no-lose situation for European golf or a no-win one.

Whoever came out second after that run-in was going to be haunted by “what might have beens” and “why mes”. Harrington admitted as much when he said afterwards that he would have struggled to continue as a professional golfer if he had lost the play-off.

Garcia’s press conference was a study in misery. I’ve seen disappointed sportsmen and women before, but this was something else.

Seeing somebody as bubbly and upbeat as him like this wasn’t easy, even for the more cynical, seen-it-all-before members of the press pack. He was given a round of applause at the end, it was the least we could do.

The broken Spaniard was so down that he seemed convinced there were darker, more malevolent forces at work against him than the pressure of a major championship, the hardest finish in golf and a determined Dubliner who just would not be beaten.

Garcia will understandably replay his lipped-out putt at the last a few thousand times a day until he wins a major – not to mention the three or four other putts that shaved the hole down the stretch – but he should give credit to his opponent for the courageous up-and-down for double-bogey at 18 that posted the clubhouse target.

The Irishman, having played his way into a one-shot lead with a hole to play, could easily have crumbled after finding the Barry Burn not once but twice. But Harrington, a man with a reputation for finishing second rather too many times for it to be a coincidence, steeled himself to play the chip and putt of his life.

It was obvious who would be taking more momentum into the play-off after that.

Will Garcia get over this? I hope so. He was probably the best player here this week, despite what the final leaderboard says. And now that he has swallowed his pride over using a belly putter, I think the one thing holding him back has now been addressed.

He deserves a major title, and soon, if only to stop his nightmares about that miss at the last. Hopefully, in time, he will come to realise that it just wasn’t his week.

And what of the rest?

Romero will obviously have his own demons to deal with - his troubles on 17 were Van de Velde-esque - but he should now focus on building on his performance here. Still only 26, the young Argentine showed he belongs in this company.

Richard Green can reflect on a remarkable final round that was so nearly a new course record. The Australian’s par putt at the last missed by a whisker - if it had dropped he would have tied the record for the lowest score in a major championship.

Ernie Els will surely view this as a missed opportunity. With a couple of hours to go it looked his for the taking. He will be back, though, he has been here before.

Tiger Woods may also have a few regrets from his week in Carnoustie but not that many. As good as he is and as competitive as he is, he was never in full command of his game here. He will know that and return even more determined and even better prepared at Southern Hills next month.

Alongside him in a share for 12th were the top British finishers, Paul Broadhurst and Justin Rose. These two represent different ends of the spectrum of domestic golfing talent. The former probably knows he will not have many more chances for a first major title, the latter will hopefully realise he is getting closer and closer.

I know it is getting tiring to say this but the British are coming.

And it would be remiss of me not to notice that this year’s championship was a double celebration for Irish golf. Harrington might have ended a 60-year wait for an Irish Open champion but Rory McIlroy’s emergence here this week suggests they will not have to wait so long for another.

So the European major drought is over, Britain’s continues and Carnoustie maintains its reputation for thrills and spills.

It’s been a privilege to watch it all unfold and as the Open’s famous yellow scoreboard puts it, see you next year at Royal Birkdale.