CHAMPION Padraig Harrington, helped by a 35-foot eagle putt at the 17th, picked up four shots in the last four holes to storm into contention at the Open yesterday.
Despite nursing an injury to his right wrist, the Irishman also birdied the 15th and the last to fire a two-under-par 68 in the second round at Royal Birkdale.
Although Harrington began well with a birdie at the second, he lost ground on early
leader Greg Norman by dropping three shots before he reached the 12th tee.
His spectacular finish, however, gave him the chance to successfully defend his title and match the achievement of world No1 Tiger Woods at Hoylake in 2006.
The start of Harrington's round coincided with a heavy squall on another windy day on the Lancashire links course but, as conditions improved, so did the holder's fortunes.
"When we started, we were feeling very sorry for ourselves and then the wind suddenly changed to make things even tougher," Harrington said. "All of a sudden I'm starting to leak a few shots and wondered what the cut is. Then I had the comfort of the eagle," he added, referring to his long-range putt at the par-five 17th.
"You don't get many of those in Open championships; it was a real bonus. My finish was a total contrast to the day before when I finished six, five after doing all the hard work for 15 holes."
After coming through what he described as "an issue" on the 11th, Harrington said he was happy his troublesome wrist will stand up to his bid for back-to-back Open titles.
"On 11 there was an issue because I had to hit out of heavy rough and though it didn't hurt me it gave me a fright because I thought it would hurt," the 36-year-old Dubliner added.
"The fact that the wrist came through shows it is pretty solid. I'm well in the hunt with 36 holes to go."
Harrington jarred his wrist on an 'impact bag' while training in the gym at the weekend and was unable to put in any serious practice before Thursday's opening round.
The full article contains 370 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
