PGA Championship Recap: Padraig Harrington Shocks Us Again

Well, he’s done it again.

Very few people predicted Harrington to defend his British Open title this year at Royal Birkdale, but he did.

Harrington’s name rarely, if ever, came up while discussing potential contenders at last week’s PGA Championship, but once again, he shocked us all by holding the Wanamaker Trophy above his head on the 18^th green on Sunday evening.,

Padraig Harrington shot a 32 on the back nine at Oakland Hills to swoop in for his second straight major championship, the third of what is quickly becoming a legendary career. 

Harrington birdied the 10^th, 12^th, and 13^th holes and was tied with Sergio Garcia at the top of the leaderboard heading into the long par-3 17^th.

Harrington hit a five iron to within ten feet of the hole.

Garcia followed Harrington off the 17th tee by knocking his teen even closer than Harrington, leaving him with a 6-foot birdie putt.

Harrington, as he had done all afternoon, sunk his ten foot putt for birdie with the confidence and with authority of man who had been in that situation before.

Garcia was unable to convert on his shorter birdie putt and approached the 18^th tee one-stroke behind Harrington.

Harrington’s tee shot on eighteen landing in the treacherous right-side bunkers. 

The window was wide open for Garcia.

But, once again, Garcia was unable to execute as his tee shot followed Harrington’s to the right side bunkers, landing in the rough on a difficult downhill slope.

Harrington was able to get his ball out of the bunker, but was unable to find the fairway, leaving himself with a difficult third shot out of the thick rough.

Having no other choice, Garcia went for broke with a three wood out of the rough and missed making a truly miraculous shot by a matter of two yards as his ball hit the top of the greenside bunker and rolled back down into the sand.

Harrington hit the type of approach shot that you’d expect of a major champion on the 18^th hole, leaving himself with a 15-foot par put.

Garcia hit a mediocre bunker shot that left him with a 6-foot par putt. 

Harrington, once again looking like a man who had a couple of major championship already under his belt, struck yet another perfect putt and watched the ball drop in for what was undoubtedly the tournament winning putt. 

Garcia appeared calmer and more confident than we’ve ever seen him while in contention for a major.

Garcia struck the ball incredible well all day and, for most of the day, was making those five to six foot putts that typically give him the most trouble in pressure situations.

But, Garcia was unable to execute down the stretch. He bogeyed sixteen, missed a six-foot birdie put on seventeen, and given an opening on eighteen through a wayward tee shot by Harrington, Sergio was unable to find the fairway.

Those few shots down the stretch that Harrington was able to execute while Garcia was not is a text book example of what separates a major champion from the rest.

In a matter of four weeks, Harrington has gone from a solid player who was able to capture a major, to a player fast approaching legendary status.

Harrington has now tied Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh and overtaken players such as Ernie Els and Ratief Goosen in major victories.

With back-to-back majors, Harrington is without question the 2008 PGA Player of the year and is now half-way to the "Paddy Slam".

As ridiculous as it sounds, Harrington is half way to achieving a version of the grand slam.

Although Harrington has not played well at recent US Opens, he has played extremely well at the Masters, having finished 5^th and 7^th at Augusta the past two years.

Does Harrington have even an outside chance of achieving the grand slam?

It is very doubtful.

The next major is seven months away and there is also the small obstacle of Tiger Woods likely being in the field.

But, then again, most never believed Padraig could defend his British Open title and no one believed that Harrington would follow his British Open title with a second straight major victory at the PGA Championship.

If we have learned anything over the past month it is never to doubt a player who is on a streak, and particularly, never to doubt Padraig Harrington when he is on a streak.

Harrington has showed the world that his British Open win at Carnoustie was no fluke; that when his game is on he is more than capable of beating the world’s best.

Harrington has indeed had a life and career changing month.