BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, MI – The trophy is bigger than him, but his heart is bigger than the trophy. Padraig Harrington, the 2008 PGA Champion looked like a Bulgarian weightlifter doing a “clean and jerk” as he thrust the squat, bulky Rodman Wanamaker Trophy awkwardly into the air with both hands. Nevertheless, as elated as he was after outdueling star-crossed Sergio Garcia and gallant Ben Curtis, today Harrington could probably have lifted his way to a medal in Beijing.
Harrington won his third career major with his putter. He ranked second in putting this week, averaging a measly 27 putts a round. Before the tournament started, Ian Poulter said, “whoever putts best this week will win,” and he was almost exactly right; Andres Romero took one less putt over four days. Over the thirty-six holes played today, Harrington went 25-26 to close the tournament.
As much of Oakland Hills’s frightening reputation as The Monster is built upon its treacherous greens, greens that rival Oakmont and Winged Foot for difficult undulations, that number is shocking. Harrington likely authored the greatest single putting effort Oakland Hills has seen in major competition by a winner. Facing pressure putt after pressure putt, Harrington was the ultimate gamer in the clutch, consistently rolling them home in front of Garcia, who missed his own crucial chances late.
Closing 66-66, Harrington brought The Monster to its knees better than Ben Hogan ever did. David felled Goliath with a slingshot, Dracula got a stake in the heart, Harrington slew The Monster with an Odyssey two-ball. Moreover, even Hogan never won the British Open and the PGA in the same year. With that, Harrington elevates himself into the company of Walter Hagen, Nick Price, and Tiger Woods. Moreover, Harrington becomes the first European to win the PGA in 78 years, (Tommy Armour was the last in 1930), and the only European to win back-to-back majors in the same year.
Harrington is a breakout star. After his second consecutive British Open win and a second consecutive major this week, he’s not just potential anymore, he is a formidable adversary. He’s unflappable, he’s precise – of course he’d be precise, he’s a Certified Public Accountant – and he has grit. He wasn’t intimidated by the stern challenges at Oakland Hills – greens so elusive, so well protected, so dangerous, they resemble a large mousetrap with a big piece of cheese just waiting to entice you, then fatally ensnare you.
But Harrington survived, indeed thrived in the crucible. He just looked back at Oakland Hills with a glance of Amazonian fierceness, like a cat stalking a rat, and willed himself to overcome any challenge. His determination rivals Woods and Mickelson. On the only day where 36 holes were played to close the PGA, his 66 here this morning included four consecutive birdies on some of the toughest holes on any major championship course, 13-16. Then he did it again, four-and-a-half hours later, shooting a second consecutive 32 on the back nine.
“I made an adjustment on the greens,” he explained earnestly. “They were softer because of the rain, and I was able to charge putts a little more and I started holing them.”
That’s an understatement. Harrington closed with three one-putts. He curled in a twelve-footer on sixteen to save par, which surged him into a tie with Garcia. Then on seventeen, he holed a ten-footer for birdie. When Garcia missed his five-foot try, Harrington had his first lead since the 3rd hole of the first round, (he opened the tournament birdie-birdie-birdie, missing a hole-in-one on the par-3 third hole by microns. His 4-iron approach rolled into the center of the cup, but struck the pin and caromed off, leaving him a tap-in putt). Finally, Harrington holed the 12-foot par putt on 18, getting up and down out of the rough from 145 yards away.
Garcia has no reason to hang his head. It took an alarming confluence of zany bad breaks to defeat him as well as the hottest putting streak of Harrington’s life. Sergio hit his 6-iron approach on 15 directly into the cup only to have it pop back out again and roll ten feet away. He missed the putt; it was a two shot swing. Worse still, he hit another 6-iron over the iconic hazard at Oakland Hills only to see it richochet off the bank back into the water. He grinded out a gutsy bogey, but Harrington drew even with him. “That’s the opportunity I was looking for,” Harrington said. That was the opening of the door.” Garcia then missed crucial putts at 17 and 18 to finish two behind.
An understandably testy Garcia did his best Phil-Mickelson-at-Winged-Foot imitation, keeping as brave a face on as he could, despite having to endure his second stunning defeat at a major at Harrington’s hands. After leading the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie after three rounds, Garcia collapsed, allowing Harrington to snatch the title after a playoff. “You know, when you give it your best, and the end result is not what you wish for, you know it’s hard, but you feel good, you feel like you gave it your best,” he explained as bravely as he could. He said he took away form the weekend, a lot of positive things. To shoot 69-68 on the last two days of a major on a course like this, I think it’s pretty positive.”
The story of the tournament is not complete without Ben Curtis, a seemingly forgotten man in the Tiger-Phil buzz and the rise of Harrington as a golf powerhouse, but one who inspires the fans not just by dressing in the local football team’s colors, but because he’s gracious, gritty and affable. Although his body language belied little disappointment, he was still candid and introspective. “I’ve got a huge confidence boost heading into the playoffs….your always on such an adrenaline rush out there, you try to take a deep breath and just try to enjoy the moment, because you never know how many opportunities you’re going to get like this,” he said, rallying a little and smiling. “Besides,” he added, giving a nod to the fans who buoyed him all weekend as he wore the Honolulu Blue of the Detroit Lions, “I felt a lot of support…Idefinitely love to play in the Midwest.”
He gave a nod to Harrington as well. “He’s won three of the last six. That’s Tiger-like.” He’s right. Harrington doesn’t just putt well, he has the most complete game in golf right now, more complete than more recognizable stars like Mickelson and Garcia, superstar players in their own right. Everyone feared the majors would be boring without Tiger Woods, but first Greg Norman threw away his cane, walker, and Ensure, and nearly won the British Open on his honeymoon. Then Harrington, the man with ice water in his veins fought another swashbuckling superstar in Garcia, and the most gracious and affable tour player in Curtis. He shot 32 on the back nine in consecutive rounds on the side of Oakland Hills that’s supposed to be much harder.
So it’ll be more John Smith’s Smooth for Harrington as a celebratory beverage, but this time the container is much larger than the Claret Jug. The Wanamaker Trophy is 30 inches high, 27 inches form handle to handle and weighs thirty pounds. Then maybe he’ll have some claret or some Bushmill’s Black. But after that, he’ll have one eye fixed firmly on the Masters. Last year, Harrington increased and honed his practice regimen to win that venerable tournament. He’s come close on several occasions, but he’s never gone into it having won the last two majors. With The Striped One eying a comeback at the same time, Major Championship Golf may finally have the long term mano-a-mano battle it has wanted for the last decade. Slante, Padraig. Bloody well done, laddie.
