For Dubliner McGinley it was sweet revenge for being pushed into second place by the Argentinian at the BMW Championship in May.

The end came when the big-hitting Cabrera blasted a drive out of bounds down the 33rd moments after winning the previous hole to keep his hopes alive.

But, having won just three of 357 European Tour events in his career so far, only victory tomorrow will leave McGinley totally happy.

“Mentally I have a sharp edge at the moment,” he said. “But I’m playing the US Open champion now and I’m going to have to play really well.

“I’ve watched this tournament from the outside looking in and it really hit home on Wednesday night when I saw the list of winners.

“This event has a huge history and the crowd are magnificent. It would mean a lot to win.”

The 38-year-old, whose best successes have come in two Ryder Cups and one World Cup, was one down after eight holes, but then had four birdies in a row - a run which started with a putt of almost 60 feet at the ninth and then a chip-in at the 10th.

He was back to one but then birdied the 17th and eagled the long 18th following a magnificent five-wood to 10 feet.

After the lunch break he answered Cabrera’s 30-footer at the 20th with a 10-foot putt of his own and after blundering on the next by three-putting, missing from barely a yard, a 12-footer at the 23rd repaired the damage of that.

Two holes later he matched a Cabrera birdie yet again to remain three-up and the South American’s bogeys at the 27th and 28th settled the issue really.

McGinley will be 40 next year but said: “I feel my graph is still going forward and I really do believe my best years are ahead of me.

“I’m eating up experience quickly I am. Things have come slowly to me – I was 26 years old when I played my first year on tour and at 19 years I was seven handicap.

“There’s not many guys on tour who can say that. Nothing has come easy to me in terms of golf and I’ve had to work hard for everything.

“I’m enjoying my best stint as a professional golfer now.”

As well as finishing second to Cabrera in the BMW he was third in the NEC world championship behind Tiger Woods last month – and was joint leader on the 17th tee.

McGinley was 68th in the world at the start of the year and did not qualify for the Masters, but he is now 36th and will move inside the top 30 for the first time as a result of today’s win.

He is still best recalled, of course, as the man who sank the putt which won the 2002 Ryder Cup, but a desire to improve his individual record has been a real driving force ever since.

“It was a big thing after The Belfry – a big thing – that 2002 was not my epitaph, my swansong,” he said.

“Sam Torrance holed the winning putt in 1985, but went on to have a great Ryder Cup career. Although people remember 1985 it wasn’t the only thing he is remembered for.”

But McGinley has not won a tour title since the 2001 Wales Open.

Campbell, meanwhile, added another chapter to the best season of his career, but was shocked by how poorly Goosen performed.

Goosen leads Campbell by nearly £180,000 at the top of the European Order of Merit, had won his last two tournaments and had crushed Kenneth Ferrie nine and eight and Mark Hensby by matching his own championship record of 12 and 11.

Yet what a difference a day makes.

Goosen had been a cumulative 17 under par for his first two matches – and finished them with a combined 18 holes to spare.

But despite the better weather on his return he covered the first 11 holes against Campbell in a miserable two over.

His opponent was conceded an eagle on the fourth and had birdies on the next three, on the other hand.

Five-up was how it remained at lunch and Goosen, round in an approximate 73, lost further ground when he double-bogeyed the 21st, chipping from the back of the green right off the front.

It was as though Goosen, winner of his last two tournaments, had saved all his bad shots for one day and when the Brighton-based Campbell pitched to within a foot of the flag at the 24th he led by seven.

That became eight with a 12-footer at the 26th and even when Goosen made birdie two holes later his opponent followed him in.

Another birdie did give him the next, but a half in fives followed and that was that.

Down in 89th place on the world rankings entering 2005 and still struggling like crazy with his game at the start of March Campbell’s return to form since then has been simply startling.

He had to birdie the last hole of the qualifying tournament at Walton Heath just to get into the US Open, then held off Tiger Woods to win it – as Goosen, three ahead with a round to play, collapsed to an 81.

Campbell then proved that was no fluke performance by coming fifth in the Open and sixth in the US PGA. He now stands 16th in the world and is bound to move higher still now.