conman1000
07-20-2008, 09:54 PM
SOUTHPORT, England -- Beware the wounded golfer. And don't even think about dismissing anyone heading into next month's PGA Championship if he is on crutches, wearing a sling or has just left the infirmary.
To win a major championship this year, it appears, you better play hurt. Padraig Harrington wasn't even sure if he could defend his Open Championship. Sunday, the Claret Jug is headed back to Ireland -- where it began the week.
Despite an aching wrist that limited him to just nine holes of practice at Royal Birkdale, Harrington emerged as the "champion golfer of the year" Sunday after sentimental favorite Greg Norman ran out of magic and Ian Poulter could not produce enough of it.
Apparently, those guys were pain-free.
A fortnight ago, Harrington was practicing at home, hitting an impact bag, and injured his left wrist. It was painful enough to keep the world's 14th-ranked player from practicing Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Harrington tweaked the wrist again on the eve of the championship, then said his chances of finishing the Open were just 50-50.
Yet he persevered through a driving rainstorm Thursday morning, endured 48 mph wind gusts Saturday and dealt with the intense major championship pressure Sunday to win his second straight Open.
"There's no doubt that this week it helped me having an injury," said Harrington, who will move to third in the Official World Golf Ranking after shooting a final-round 1-under 69. He has also moved to the top of the European Ryder Cup list. "It took all the pressure and stress and expectation away from my game. It helped me deflect so much from coming back and defending. It was like coming in fresh."
[+] EnlargeAndy Lyons/Getty Images
Padraig Harrington's nearly perfect 5-wood on the par-5 17th hole set up an eagle that would clinch him his second straight British Open title.
Perhaps it was not as dramatic as Tiger Woods' win last month at the U.S. Open, where he returned following a two-month layoff from knee surgery and limped his way around Torrey Pines before winning a playoff over Rocco Mediate -- then shut it down for the year for more knee surgery.
And it certainly wasn't as serious as the surgery Trevor Immelman returned from just four months before his Masters victory in April. For a time, Immelman worried about having cancer as a benign tumor was removed from his diaphragm.
But a wrist injury brings problems not to be dismissed, especially trying to hit out of the deep fescue that lines a links course like Royal Birkdale. Add in the cold and rain and discomfort that comes with it, and nobody would have blinked had Harrington sprayed it around the property and packed his bags Friday night.
But the son of an Irish policeman who played Gaelic football did not become a multiple major champion by giving in so easily. Harrington has said that he would have been content to be a journeyman pro, that he didn't feel his talent warranted stardom. He'd have to work for what he got. And work he did.
"If you ask, me my best trait over the years, it's always been my ability to learn," said Harrington, 36, who now has 13 European Tour titles. "To look around, take the best of everything and try to put it together. I do enjoy that end of things. And I do believe I'm getting better with time."
Sunday was a prime example.
For a time, he and Norman appeared headed toward an ugly best-ball score, neither one able to do much. And when Harrington bogeyed the final three holes on the front side, Norman was on the cusp of history, leading the Open Championship with nine holes to play.
But Harrington did not make a bogey the rest of the way. He made two birdies and an eagle to shoot 32 on the back side.
"He was very impressive," said Norman, who also has two Open titles and was bidding at age 53 to become the oldest major champion. "The way he finished … a true champion finishes that way. And he finished strong on these holes early in the week, and he finished strong today."
Harrington joined a long list of back-to-back champions at the Open, including Woods, who did it in 2005 and 2006. But it's been more than 100 years since a European golfer pulled off the double. You have to go back to Scotland's James Braid in 1905 and '06. Before that, it was the great Harry Vardon, who won a record six Opens and won consecutive titles in 1898 and '99.
None of that was racing through Harrington's mind Sunday. He never looked at a leaderboard, didn't know until late in the round that Poulter had even entered the picture, was unaware of how much money he'll be hauling home (about $1.5 million).
But he did know it sure would be nice to end things better than he did a year ago at Carnoustie. And it was an eagle at the 17th hole -- after a 5-wood second shot to three feet -- that meant a 4-shot advantage and one of the loveliest strolls toward the 72nd green a golfer could dream about.
The grin was ear to ear and the smile could have illuminated the sky from the west coast of England to his home in Dublin.
"It was a fantastic experience coming down there knowing I had won the Open," he said.
And quite the contrast from Carnoustie, where Harrington deposited two balls in the Barry Burn and considered the prospects of joining Jean Van de Velde in Open infamy.
But last year Harrington recovered, got a break when Sergio Garcia bogeyed the final hole, then defeated him in a four-hole playoff.
A year later, he wondered aloud how his career might have proceeded had he blown the tournament. He admitted that doubt could have crept in his mind, that the haunting memories might always come back if faced with a similar predicament. And he expressed regret at having to return the game's oldest trophy.
As it worked out, the Claret Jug was not out of his grasp for long. He scanned the list of champions, seeing his name inscribed there again. He then held it aloft for all to see.
And that wrist could not have felt better.
Awesome, Padraig repeated. My uncle should have bet on him but he didn't says whenever he bets on Padraig he fails.
To win a major championship this year, it appears, you better play hurt. Padraig Harrington wasn't even sure if he could defend his Open Championship. Sunday, the Claret Jug is headed back to Ireland -- where it began the week.
Despite an aching wrist that limited him to just nine holes of practice at Royal Birkdale, Harrington emerged as the "champion golfer of the year" Sunday after sentimental favorite Greg Norman ran out of magic and Ian Poulter could not produce enough of it.
Apparently, those guys were pain-free.
A fortnight ago, Harrington was practicing at home, hitting an impact bag, and injured his left wrist. It was painful enough to keep the world's 14th-ranked player from practicing Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. Harrington tweaked the wrist again on the eve of the championship, then said his chances of finishing the Open were just 50-50.
Yet he persevered through a driving rainstorm Thursday morning, endured 48 mph wind gusts Saturday and dealt with the intense major championship pressure Sunday to win his second straight Open.
"There's no doubt that this week it helped me having an injury," said Harrington, who will move to third in the Official World Golf Ranking after shooting a final-round 1-under 69. He has also moved to the top of the European Ryder Cup list. "It took all the pressure and stress and expectation away from my game. It helped me deflect so much from coming back and defending. It was like coming in fresh."
[+] EnlargeAndy Lyons/Getty Images
Padraig Harrington's nearly perfect 5-wood on the par-5 17th hole set up an eagle that would clinch him his second straight British Open title.
Perhaps it was not as dramatic as Tiger Woods' win last month at the U.S. Open, where he returned following a two-month layoff from knee surgery and limped his way around Torrey Pines before winning a playoff over Rocco Mediate -- then shut it down for the year for more knee surgery.
And it certainly wasn't as serious as the surgery Trevor Immelman returned from just four months before his Masters victory in April. For a time, Immelman worried about having cancer as a benign tumor was removed from his diaphragm.
But a wrist injury brings problems not to be dismissed, especially trying to hit out of the deep fescue that lines a links course like Royal Birkdale. Add in the cold and rain and discomfort that comes with it, and nobody would have blinked had Harrington sprayed it around the property and packed his bags Friday night.
But the son of an Irish policeman who played Gaelic football did not become a multiple major champion by giving in so easily. Harrington has said that he would have been content to be a journeyman pro, that he didn't feel his talent warranted stardom. He'd have to work for what he got. And work he did.
"If you ask, me my best trait over the years, it's always been my ability to learn," said Harrington, 36, who now has 13 European Tour titles. "To look around, take the best of everything and try to put it together. I do enjoy that end of things. And I do believe I'm getting better with time."
Sunday was a prime example.
For a time, he and Norman appeared headed toward an ugly best-ball score, neither one able to do much. And when Harrington bogeyed the final three holes on the front side, Norman was on the cusp of history, leading the Open Championship with nine holes to play.
But Harrington did not make a bogey the rest of the way. He made two birdies and an eagle to shoot 32 on the back side.
"He was very impressive," said Norman, who also has two Open titles and was bidding at age 53 to become the oldest major champion. "The way he finished … a true champion finishes that way. And he finished strong on these holes early in the week, and he finished strong today."
Harrington joined a long list of back-to-back champions at the Open, including Woods, who did it in 2005 and 2006. But it's been more than 100 years since a European golfer pulled off the double. You have to go back to Scotland's James Braid in 1905 and '06. Before that, it was the great Harry Vardon, who won a record six Opens and won consecutive titles in 1898 and '99.
None of that was racing through Harrington's mind Sunday. He never looked at a leaderboard, didn't know until late in the round that Poulter had even entered the picture, was unaware of how much money he'll be hauling home (about $1.5 million).
But he did know it sure would be nice to end things better than he did a year ago at Carnoustie. And it was an eagle at the 17th hole -- after a 5-wood second shot to three feet -- that meant a 4-shot advantage and one of the loveliest strolls toward the 72nd green a golfer could dream about.
The grin was ear to ear and the smile could have illuminated the sky from the west coast of England to his home in Dublin.
"It was a fantastic experience coming down there knowing I had won the Open," he said.
And quite the contrast from Carnoustie, where Harrington deposited two balls in the Barry Burn and considered the prospects of joining Jean Van de Velde in Open infamy.
But last year Harrington recovered, got a break when Sergio Garcia bogeyed the final hole, then defeated him in a four-hole playoff.
A year later, he wondered aloud how his career might have proceeded had he blown the tournament. He admitted that doubt could have crept in his mind, that the haunting memories might always come back if faced with a similar predicament. And he expressed regret at having to return the game's oldest trophy.
As it worked out, the Claret Jug was not out of his grasp for long. He scanned the list of champions, seeing his name inscribed there again. He then held it aloft for all to see.
And that wrist could not have felt better.
Awesome, Padraig repeated. My uncle should have bet on him but he didn't says whenever he bets on Padraig he fails.