For all the world it looked as though his tee-shot at the 18th had splashed into the lake only for it somehow to find a little piece of dry land.

When he arrived at the island green he found his ball actually inside the red hazard line, but six inches from the water.

He was able to take his stance, albeit with his foot perched on the rocks, and as he was able to play the ball, there was no penalty.

He made the most of his good fortune, pitching up to five feet and then clenching his fist in triumph after rolling in the par putt which took him into the clubhouse on 11 under par, two shots clear of the field at that point.

He had almost come to grief on the previous hole as well when he only just cleared the water with his tee-shot there, but again was able to make a good up and down to save par.

With three birdies in a row from the tenth after a slow start, suddenly Graeme McDowell was charging up the leaderboard in the middle of the afternoon.

His four iron to the 12th was a stunning effort to a couple of feet and the putt took him to nine under, just a shot behind Monty.

McDowell fired his drive down the middle of the 13th but the thunderstorms, which had been threatening all day, chose exactly that moment to arrive as the players were hauled off the course for 45 minutes.

"I was really fizzing at that point and it was the worst possible moment to have to come off," he said.

"I had just ripped in down 13 after three birdies, feeling really great, back in the tournament and bang, a really tough shot back after the restart."

On his return he blocked that six iron approach from 175 yards then three-putted to immediately drop a shot.

As he chased Montgomerie's target he went bogey, bogey, double-bogey for a disappointing 71 to finish on five under.

"I will take the positives from this week eventually, but I had a chance to win this tournament and the storm killed me a little bit."

Montgomerie, though, was well worth his win, his first on the European Tour since December 2005 in Hong Kong.

The victory was delayed a second time by an intervention from the weather which forced the players from the course for over an hour and 20 minutes with Monty already safely in the clubhouse.

After the resumption, Swede Niclas Fasth strode out to the 18th needing a birdie to force a play-off. He gave himself a chance from 20-feet but although he judged the pace superbly, it stopped a fraction from the hole.

Even though he rode his luck at times, his closing five under 65 was the lowest round of the day, matched only by England's Anthony Wall who finished in a tie for third.

"I've never felt unlucky when I've won a tournament and I had my fair share of that today," said Montgomerie on receiving the trophy.

"It reminded me of the '92 US Open when I had a long wait to see what was going to happen and it shows the importance of getting in there with a good score.

"It's tough to have to come from behind and try and chase to make things happen and it rarely does.

"That's my 31st win and that takes me one past Nick Faldo and that is important to me, to go past a man who I respect so much in the game."