ALTHOUGH the drama of twice finding the burn at Carnoustie on the 72nd hole before defeating Sergio Garcia in a play-off to claim his first major title last summer will always mean a lot to him, Padraig Harrington admitted last night at Royal Birkdale that he felt a different sense of satisfaction after winning the 2008 Open in such emphatic style. "I feel more accomplished this year," he said. "This win will probably give me more confidence."
Only the second European golfer in modern times to successfully defend a major – Nick Faldo held onto the Masters at Augusta in 1990 – the Dubliner said that he'd rarely felt more at ease with his game or found a better balance between relaxation and
tension on the links.
Acknowledging that when things are going too well he can suffer at times from a wandering mind, the 36-year-old Open champion was grateful to the elements for keeping him focused and in the moment. As the wind blew at speeds of up to 40mph, Harrington felt the inclement conditions kept him trained on the here and now. "The weather forced me to play one shot at a time," he said.
Of the 69 blows he needed to get round England's finest links, none was more notable than the bold 5 wood he launched to within a few feet of the flag on the 17th green before holing a short putt for eagle.
Leading by two strokes when he opted not to lay up on the par 5, Harrington said the decision to be aggressive had less to do with Ian Poulter sitting in the clubhouse on seven over par than the concern he felt at the continuing threat posed by his playing companion, Greg Norman.
The Irishman didn't want to give Norman a chance to make eagle himself and potentially trim the gap between the challengers to a stroke going down the last. Recalling how his advantage had evaporated at Carnoustie, and bearing in mind how good he felt about his game, Harrington decided to grab the Open by the scruff of the neck.
Taking aim at a twisting green many regarded as out of character with the rest of the links, Harrington threw caution to the wind and reached for the fairway metal, his favourite club in the bag. His mentality was so positive that the complexity of the putting surface only acted as a stimulus.
The golfer was firmly established in the zone of self-belief and convinced himself the severe down slope would be a help to his putting stroke rather than a hindrance.
His caddie, Ronan Flood, rarely makes the error of hailing a shot in flight. On this occasion, though, he couldn't help himself. "As soon as the ball was in the air, he said 'good shot' to me, which is totally out of character for him. Normally he would wait until the ball stopped moving before he said anything. Obviously, he was comfortable with the decision, but it was a worrying shot."
As for the wrist injury which made him concerned he would have to play through the pain barrier, Harrington again turned a negative into a positive. "It was a great distraction for me," he reasoned. Having a wrist injury pushed everything about coming back to defend the title to one side.
"It took a lot of pressure and stress off me. Another plus was that I only played nine holes of practice rather than three rounds. I felt very fresh going into the weekend. The wrist injury was a saver for me, really,"
Complimented as not only Ireland's finest golfer but perhaps his country's most notable sportsman, Harrington doesn't expect the consequences of his actions at Birkdale to sink in for a day or two.
"One of the keys to playing well on Sunday at an Open is not getting into the consequences of what you're doing. Winning a major puts you in a special club, winning two puts you in another club altogether.
"Now I will begin to reflect on things like that. But I couldn't even tell you what I won (£750,000). It's all about the Claret Jug."
Last year his son Patrick wanted to put ladybirds in the trophy.
"He's a little past that now," laughed Harrington. "It's snails and more gruesome insects. But I'm looking forward to having the jug back on the breakfast table again."
Harrington also paid tribute to Norman, by making the point that any pro would be happy to drive like him "at any stage of your career, never mind at 53 years of age."
The feel of admiration was reciprocated and the Australian, who won two Opens himself, said: "Even though it might have got away from him in the middle of the round, he performed beautifully and finished like a true Open champion. He finished strongly on the closing holes earlier in the tournament and did it again in the final round."
After the US Open identified a champion who played on one leg and the Claret Jug was clasped by a man with one good hand, Harrington was quick to distinguish his own situation from that of Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines.
"Tiger was injured and it impaired his ability to perform," he recalled. "Mine didn't impair me at all on the course…it just kept me away from practice, which was a bonus for me."
The victory secured Harrington's place in the Ryder Cup in September and takes him from 14th to a career-high third in the world rankings.
"It clears up a lot for September, that had been on my mind too," he added. "I got to sixth in the world before and wasn't comfortable there.
"I'm more comfortable at third than I was at sixth. I have improved as a player and continue to improve."
The full article contains 986 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
