Last Week's Best: The Top-Five Games (July 14-July 20)

Light-hitting infielder Aaron Miles turned a pretty good day (he was 2-4 with two runs scored at the time) into a memorable one by launching a pitch over the right field wall to give his team the victory. It was his first ever walk-off hit.

For the Padres, the loss was just another game that got away. San Diego is now 25 games under .500 on the season. For the Cardinals, it was another critical victory as they continue to fight with the Cubs and Brewers for what might only be one playoff spot out of the NL Central.

3. Golf: Padraig Harrington wins the Open Championship (July 17-20)

Who needs Tiger? That was the general sentiment echoing from the golf community, fearful that one of the game’s most precious events would be tarnished by the absence of the world’s best player. After all, they said, many major championships had been contested before Tiger became a superstar, and nobody had questioned the validity of those tournaments.

53-year old Greg Norman played a big role in many of the major championships that preceded Tiger’s emergence. Little did anybody know he would become the main player in this one as well.

The virtual retiree—Norman hardly plays or practices anymore and publicly stated that he was using this event as a tune-up for the British Senior Open—wowed spectators for three days, playing the steadiest golf of anyone on the course en route to a two-shot lead heading into the final round.

But in the end, it was not to be. Norman handled himself well and never gave everyone the monumental collapse they were expecting. But he couldn’t hole enough puts Sunday, and ended up finishing tied for third.

The other star of this tournament, the course/conditions, also could not last all 72 holes. For the first 66, Royal Birkdale baffled all comers. The bogeys multiplied and scores ballooned—so much so that Ernie Els, who shot himself out of contention with an 80 on the first day and was essentially never heard from since, ended up finishing tied for seventh place at 12 over par.

But then Padraig Harrington decided that enough was enough. Tied at seven over par with Ian Poulter, Harrington birdied the 13th, then birdied the par-five 15th to give himself a little bit of breathing room. But that was only a prelude to what was to come.

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