Padraig Harrington wins the 2007 Open Championship
I must say I’m happy that Padraig Harrington won The Open Championship. I’ve always been a fan of his and my putting stance is very similar, wide and square.
Despite going in the Barry Burn TWICE on 18, Padraig managed to get into a playoff with Sergio Garcia. Garcia had spent his mental and emotional load on the round and had no ammo left for the playoff.
Harrington was very candid and said that had he lost the championship, he may not have been able to be competitive at golf again. Makes you wonder about Sergio…
Sergio Garcia
I’ve long been a Sergio critic. I’m pretty tired of seeing, for the gazillionth time, Sergio hopping in the air in at Medinah in 1999. That is ancient history. The most memorable part of this guy’s career is losing to Tiger and hopping in the air?
As I suspected, the belly putter didn’t work as much magic as everyone thought. He still gagged down the stretch with the putter and then made some lame excuses for not winning. He said he was playing against more than just field. He attributed bad luck and bad breaks to not winning. Sounds like your average weekend player to me. He needs a dose of Gary Player’s positive attitude. Maybe that will do the trick for him.
Tiger Woods
…..was not much of a factor.
I don’t practice much. I don’t have a golf coach. I don’t have Nike making custom gear for me and setting me up with perfect specs for my clubs so that I can be more accurate. I’m a hack. That being said, I still hit more fairways than Tiger does.
Steve Stricker
Steve Stricker could have won this tournament, as could a handful of players. What a great story that would have been. Sort of a “worst to first” story. Unfortunately for him his best club (his putter), let him down.
Andres Romero
Man Andres Romero had about the most insane 18 holes I’ve seen in a major. He had FOUR pars, 10 birdies, two bogeys and two doubles. He went the last 11 holes without a par and SHOULD have won the championship.
He was leading when he hit terribly dumb 2-iron from deep rough on #17. The ball bounced off the burn wall and went OB. The TV cameras couldn’t even track it. Even with a bogey on 18, he still could have posted -8, which would have won it for him.
In the pic below, Romero watches his shot on #17 in disbelief as it goes OB.
Three down, one to go
So now we’ve completed three of four majors. Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and the other big guns haven’t won. Only first time winners so far. Will the PGA Championship be the same in about three weeks? Sure, why not?
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
Sergio Garcia is 27, 10 years younger than Paddy Harrington. He has won 6 PGA tournaments, 6 European tour championships, and others in Corea and South Africa. He has lead the European Team to win and rewin the Ryder Cup. He is committed and involved in social activities, finding time to help others whenever he can. He is a normal kid who would love to be happy and make others happier. He still has plenty of time to win several majors. Yes, he has failed several times in the last day in the majors. But this is much more than others who rarely have a chance. He never said that he would stop trying. His failures, his words and his attitudes are an inspiration to lots of golf players, a sport we love and in which every putt can be failed.
I have to say it was refreshing to see Padraig take home a win. The fact that Nick Faldo was riding the Europeans for not being tough enough to contend in majors, and then it ends up in a playoff. On top of the Padraig is probably one of the nicest hard working guys in all of golf and he proved that nice guys can win the big tournaments. You don’t have to ignore your competitors. I got chills watching him in the awards ceremony.