What About Padraig Harrington?

With Tiger Woods’ much anticipated return to the PGA Tour and Phil Mickelson playing better than he has in a very long time, maybe even ever, it is easy to forget about the biggest story of them all as we near the 2009 Masters.

Although he gets about as much respect as teenage caddie at a stuffy country club, Padraig Harrington is, believe it or not, halfway to achieving a form of the modern day grand slam.

In 1933, Bobby Jones won all four major championships in one calendar year and is still the only player in the history of the game to have done so.

Back in 1953, the British Open and PGA Championship were played in the same week.

Following wins at both the Masters and US Open, Ben Hogan opted to play in the 1953 British Open at Carnoustie, which he won and completed arguably the greatest season in golf since Jones had won the grand slam exactly twenty years earlier.

Hogan’s three major wins in as many tries would later become known as the ‘Hogan Slam’.

Tiger Woods won the 2000 PGA Championship and then won the first three majors of the 2001 season, making him the only player other than Jones to hold all four major championship titles at one time.

Woods’ four consecutive major wins between 2000 and 2001 is now commonly known as the ‘Tiger Slam’.

With wins at the 2008 British Open and PGA Championship, Padraig Harrington is half way to joining Jones, Hogan and Woods on the most exclusive list in all the game.

Understandably, you may be thinking to yourself that the idea of Padraig Harrington winning the grand slam is ludicrous, particularly with the slow start he has gotten off to in 2009.

But, you would have probably thought the exact same thing if someone were to say to you that Harrington would win the PGA Championship just three weeks after successfully defending his British Open title.

Sure, Harrington happened to get extremely hot at precisely the right time during a four week stretch that included the British Open and the PGA Championship.

However, there are many players who have caught fire over a short period of time yet very few of them have come even close to winning back-to-back majors.

After winning his first major title at the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie, Harrington appears to have found a form of confidence on the back-nine, particularly on the greens, that has made him an extremely tough guy to beat when he’s in contention on Sunday.

Yes, it would be utterly and completely shocking if Harrington were to win the 2009 Masters, particularly with the slow start he has gotten off to in 2009 and the slew of media attention he would have to face if he were in contention heading into the weekend.

However, out of the two majors Harrington needs to win to complete the ‘Paddy Slam’, the Masters is certainly the more winnable of the two.

Harrington has finished within the top-10 in each of his last two appearances at Augusta.

He has not fared nearly as well in recent US Opens, failing to make the cut at the 2007 US Open at Oakmont and finishing tied for 36th at Torrey Pines last year.

That being said, in the three years prior to his first British Open title, Harrington missed the cut in 2004, didn’t play in 2005 and missed the cut again in 2006 before defeating Sergio Garcia in a sudden death playoff to win the 2007 British Open.

Are the odds stacked against Harrington?

To say absolutely would be a severe understatement.

But remember, the odds were certainly stacked against Harrington to win any of his first three major titles and particularly to win the 2008 PGA Championship just weeks after winning his second British Open title.

There is an old Chinese provide that goes “Fool me once. Shame on you. Fool me twice. Shame on me.”