Padraig Harrington successfully defended his British Open title in 2008

Skepticism probably plagues Harrington’s win with Tiger Woods unable to be a part of it.

But wait, Padraig Harrington did win the British Open last year too right? And after he won yet again, winning the 2008 British Open, you have to wonder if we’ll have a different story if Tiger did play or not.

You read it, Padraig Harrington bagged the 137th Open Championship, winning the title for the second straight year after beating both Greg Norman and Ian Poulter. He is now a back-to-back British Open champion people, and if you don’t know the guy before, you SHOULD now.

Two weeks ago, nobody probably predicted Padraig Harrington will have a re-peat, if you will. Harrington was at home practicing with an injured left wrist. And as the 14th ranked player in the world, he was not 100 percent sure he can continue to play in the Open Championship.

Adding insult to injury, Harrington tweaked the wrist again a day before the British Open starts, then saying his chances of finishing the Open were just 50-50. Lady luck sure have a nasty sense of humor eh?

‘’If you ask, me my best trait over the years, it’s always been my ability to learn, to look around, take the best of everything and try to put it together. I do enjoy that end of things. And I do believe I’m getting better with time,’’ the 36-year-old Harrington, who now has 13 European Tour titles, said.

Padraig Harrington first had to take the lead from Greg Norman, which he did on the par-3 12th when Norman missed a 10-foot par putt. Then came a late charge from Ian Poulter, who made a 15-foot birdie on the 16th and saved par with a 15-footer on the final hole for a 69 that looked like it might be good enough to win.

But the Irishman responded with clutch shots of his own. Harrington hit a 3-wood into the wind to 40 feet on the par-5 15th and got down in two putts for birdie, giving him a two-shot lead. Standing in the 17th fairway, still aware that Norman could make eagle and stay in the game, Harrington hit a 5-wood that bounded onto the green and up the ridge, stopping 4 feet away for eagle.

That gave him a four-shot lead, and he knew it was over when his tee shot found the 18th fairway.

Padraig Harrington joined a long list of back-to-back champions at the Open, including Tiger Woods, who did it in 2005 and 2006. But it’s been more than 100 years since a European golfer pulled off the double. You have to go back to Scotland’s James Braid in 1905 and ‘06. Before that, it was the great Harry Vardon, who won a record six Opens and won consecutive titles in 1898 and ‘99.

Believe.

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British Open Padraig Harrington

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 10:17 am and is filed under British Open, Golf, Tiger Woods. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.