Padraig Harrington became only the second European to win the Grand Slam after holding off a last-day charge by Webb Simpson at Port Royal yesterday.Not since Welshman Ian Woosnam won the PGA’s end-of-season competition in 1991 has a European triumphed in an event which brings together the winners of the year’s four majors.Harrington said he was surprised it had taken so long for Europe to end its Grand Slam barren run considering the talent the continent had produced in recent times.“I’m very surprised that only one guy has ever won before me. I’m surprised and very happy about that,” said Harrington. “I’ve set a few European records, although it’s not quite a record being the second guy.“You know what, I’m surprised that’s the case given there’s been some great Europeans and I’m sure they have played many times but I’m just happy to be the winner this time.”Victories have been hard to come by for Harrington since winning back-to-back majors in 2009.He said he intended to savour the moment with his wife Caroline who travelled to Bermuda with her husband, a late addition to the elite four-man field.“I think we haven’t had a win in a long time and I’ve got to tell you, they don’t come around anywhere near as often as you believe they come around, and when you win, you make sure you enjoy it,” said Harrington.“Absolutely I’m going to make sure I enjoy this win because even in your very, very, very best year, you might have, you know, like in a great year, you might have three or four wins. It just doesn’t happen as often as people think, so when it happens, you’ve got to enjoy it.Most satisfying for the 41-year-old was the manner in which he “battened down the hatches” to keep Simpson at Bay.And Harrington now hopes yesterday’s win will be the catalyst for another successful period in his already distinguished career.“I believe I’m playing really good golf. I believe that there’s good stuff in my game already and I believe that there’s other stuff that I need to tidy up.“I see a lot of good things happening and I do believe that I’m turning the corner into a peak. What those peaks are, we’ll wait and see.“You know, you could have a beautiful 18 months and win half a dozen tournaments, but no major. Maybe I could win one major and no other tournaments and that would still probably be a better 18 months to be honest.Harrington added: “You don’t know what’s going to happen in terms of winning and winning majors. They are not that easy to come by.“It was pretty tough for me after 2007 and by the end of 2008, it seemed quite easy. I do realise with experience that the wins, they don’t come around as often as you think.“I do believe I’m going into a nice period in my career now, and I’m looking forward to some good successes.”