Harrington promises
more after open victory

By Aidan Begley

Golf can be a very gentile game at times. There’s nothing better than strolling around a stunning course playing a great (or poor) round of golf or even sitting back in front of the television and slowly drifting off for a snooze whilst listening to the dulcet tones of Peter Alliss.
In recent years, the main man at the top of the leaderboard has been Tiger Woods, and the 136th Open Championship at Carnoustie looked set to be no different when Tiger rolled into Scotland – but his reign at the top has been disrupted, thanks to Ireland’s very own Padraig Harrington, who won his maiden major title at the Open.
Harrington looked set for his first ever title on the final day of the Championship after removing Spaniard Sergio Garcia from the top of the leaderboard and had given himself a slender advantage of one shot going into his final hole of the round.
However, the Barry Burn on the final hole saw Harrington throw away his lead, in scenes reminiscent of Jean van de Velde’s infamous collapse in 1999 when he lost the title after a triple-bogey seven via the water when needing a four to win after venturing into the water to try and play his shot when it landed in there.
The 35-year-old Harrington put two shots into the stream in front of the 18th en route to a double-bogey six to allow Garcia, playing in the final group, a par putt to win the Open, but the Spaniard, who was three clear overnight, missed.
A four-hole play-off then ensued in order to clinch the Open after one of the most dramatic finishes in recent years and after winning the first hole, Harrington beat his Ryder Cup team-mate by one stroke over the extra holes to become Europe’s first major champion since Scotland's Paul Lawrie won a play-off over the same links eight years ago.
“If I’d lost after what happened on 18 I don't know what I would have thought about playing golf again,” said Harrington, who carded 67 to finish seven under.
“I think if I'd lost it would have been very hard to take. If Sergio had parred the last and I'd lost, I think I would have struggled to come back and be a competitive golfer. I would have struggled in the future.
"But I didn't allow myself to get down about taking six at the last. I convinced myself all along I was going to win and that if it was a play-off, I would do the business."
“I have come a long way. When I turned pro I would have settled for becoming a journeyman. It's been great to be named as someone who could win a major. To actually go and do it, well I don't know what to think.
“Once you’ve won a few events, everything is about winning a major and the whole of your career is judged on that. Winning the first one is the hardest part and there's a lot of pressure, hype and stress about doing it.
“So to finally cross that threshold is such a relief, and hopefully I can now go on and win a few of them.”
Harrington said that although he succumbed to the tough 18th hole, he felt that his reaction to the mistake was the key to him securing the Open, along with a warm-up tournament he played the week before in Ireland.
“If there ever was a good double bogey six, then that was it. The hole is a very tough one, one of the toughest in golf, and I hit a couple of bad shots, but I'm really proud of the way I reacted.
“I kept myself so level. My temperament was so good that I do believe that's what won me the play-off - my reaction to nearly losing the Open [at the 18th]. I stayed very, very calm.
"I asked the Irish PGA to put the event on a links course the week before the Open. They did that for me, so I got four rounds of competitive links golf and it definitely made a difference for me at Carnoustie.
"I do believe it would help anyone the week before the Open to play a links course, and competitive links golf is better than just going out there and playing a few practice rounds.
"But I don't think it's going to happen in the very near future unless a lot of European Tour pros start taking their PGA membership in Ireland,” said Harrington.
The Dubliner, European Order of Merit winner in 2006, also became the first Open winner from Ireland since Fred Daly triumphed at Hoylake in 1947.
For Garcia, who carded a two-over 73, it will be a bitter pill to swallow after leading for the first three rounds.
"To tell you the truth, I don't feel like I did anything wrong," said Garcia. "I really didn't miss a shot in the play-off. I hit unbelievable putts. They just didn't go in. Every time I get in this position, I never have any room for error. I should write a book on how not to miss a shot and not win a play-off.”
Garcia also buckled alongside Tiger Woods at the 2002 US Open at Bethpage and slipped to fifth when playing alongside Woods in last year's Open at Hoylake.
Harrington dropped out but again found the water with his second shot, and ran up a six to drop back to seven under, leaving Garcia needing to hole a 10-footer for victory, which he subsequently missed to set-up the play-off.
When Harrington sank his winning putt this rendered him speechless and £750,000 better off.
After struggling in the US, he realised his game was not good enough to compete at the highest level and he resolved to knuckle down, becoming one of the hardest practising professionals in the game.
Harrington has endured his fair share of bad luck with a record 30 runner's-up finishes - to go with his 14 titles - on the tour.
The qualified accountant has also gone close before at majors with five fifth-place finishes, the most recent at the US Open at Winged Foot last year, when he finished two behind Geoff Ogilvy after three closing bogeys.
That was the second time he has stood on the final tee still in with a chance of victory.
Four years ago at Muirfield, a closing bogey left him one shot out of the play-off when Ernie Els beat Thomas Levet, Stuart Appleby and Steve Elkington.
But the work ethic of the teetotal Dubliner has finally paid off with an Open victory, with Harrington determined to add to his tally now that he has broken his major duck.