Does Anyone Care that Padraig Harrington Made History?

"If a tree falls down in the woods and no one is around to hear it—does it make a sound?"

We've struggled for generations to make sense of that perplexing question. But, this week's PGA Championship is a great landscape to analyze what it really means.

The tree falling down is the burden that's fallen off of Padraig Harrington's shoulders. He's now a three-time major champion, and only the ninth golfer to win consecutive majors.

Yet, no one was around. Did anyone else notice how barren the course was for Padraig's British Open and PGA wins?

So, the question is this: did Padraig's amazing feat resonate in the golf world? In other words, did it make a sound?

Unfortunately, it seems, the answer is no.

And, quite ironically, the reason no one seems to notice is all because of woods—Tiger Woods, that is. 

Without Tiger in the mix, a golf tournament ceases to be an event.

Some might claim that the resurgence of Greg Norman in the British Open, plus the  Garcia-Curtis-Harrington battle down the stretch at the PGA were enough to compensate for Tiger's absence.

But those optimists are sadly mistaken.

Even with Greg Norman's Cinderella story, 2008 British Open ratings fell 15 percent compared to 2007.

And, did anyone notice how sparse the crowds were at this week's PGA Championship?

The galleries following Harrington and Garcia looked to be two or three people deep, compared to Tiger-esque galleries which usually stand 10 or more deep.

Plus, Ian Baker-Finch and David Feherty estimated on the CBS telecast that there were only about 150 people following the final pairing! The stands were barely even half full for an American, Ben Curtis, as he fought his way through the grueling back nine.

Let's grasp what happened yesterday. Padraig Harrington won back-to-back majors—an extraordinary accomplishment only achieved by the true greats of the game.

Which other golfers have won consecutive majors?

Jack Nicklaus.

Ben Hogan.

Arnold Palmer.

Seve Ballesteros.

Craig Wood.

Phil Mickelson.

Gene Sarazen.

Oh, and of course, Tiger Woods.

Now, we can add Padraig Harrington to that select club. Getting his name on that list alone cements Padraig's place in history as one of the game's greatest players.

Yet, what are the top stories on SportsCenter and in your local paper today? Updates on Brett Favre. Preseason football recaps. Someone won a silver medal in fencing, and someone else won a bronze medal in team handball.

Today at work, ask someone if they saw Padraig Harrington win yesterday, and I'd bet their response will be, "Who?"

At the very least, Tiger's name will get a sly response of "I don't watch golf" or "Golf is for wimps."

But Padraig Harrington? Who's that?

Such is usually the case for international players. But Harrington clearly isn't just any old International player. He's won 50 percent of the major championships played in the past year and a half.

Okay, so that's an engineered statistic. But it's an important one when you consider the company he's in: again— Nicklaus, Woods... you catch my drift.

So why isn't anyone talking about it? Where's the buzz over Padraig?

Oh, that's right—no one was watching.

Switch Greg Norman and Ben Curtis for Tiger Woods in both of the last two majors and Padraig hits the top of the sports pages and the lead on SportsCenter.

But, put Tiger in a hyperbaric chamber recovering from knee surgery the past few months, and the entire golf world slowly drifts away from mainstream America.

For Harrington, this is extremely unfair. His passionate fist pumps on the 18th hole weren't quite as dramatic as Tiger's back in June, but Paddy's celebration still marked a tremendous feat.

Yet, while the fans at Torrey Pines threw their hands in the air, jumped up, and screamed like they just saw Plaxico Burress catch a last-second touchdown pass from Eli Manning in the Super Bowl, Harrington got a much different reaction.

Most of the PGA "fans" who watched Padraig sink the championship winning putt on the 18th just sat still and gave a polite golf clap.

Others merely stood there dumbfounded with their arms crossed. A few knowledgeable (but probably Irish/European) patrons gave the proper jump-up-and-go-wild reaction.

What should have been an amazing PGA Championship victory by a new breakthrough star morphed into a lackluster yawner without Tiger on the prowl.

Think we'll see Padraig on a Gillette or Gatorade commercial anytime soon? Probably not. His deserved glory was denied, ironically, by the ACL of Tiger Woods.

It's unfair, impertinent, and cruel.

But such is the world of professional sports.