Harrington Does a Double Take

Irishman Wins Second-Straight British Open

SOUTHPORT, England, July 20 -- The prospect of a Greg Norman conquest of the 137th British Open as the oldest major champion ended on the unforgiving back nine of the windswept links of Royal Birkdale on Sunday. Instead, Padraig Harrington made his own mark in the annals of the game on a blustery afternoon, becoming the first European player since 1906 to defend his title and claim the Claret Jug for a second straight year.

Tied with third-round leader Norman with six holes to play, Harrington had wondered Wednesday if he could even play this week with a sore right wrist injured in a workout at home in Dublin last Saturday. Still, he was healthy enough this day to craft two late birdies and one last magnificent eagle at the 572-yard 17th hole to pull away from his playing partner and earn his own applause as he took his triumphant march up the 18th fairway with Norman by his side.

"I thanked him for his company; he's a super guy," Harrington said. "I did say to him coming down 18 that I was sorry it wasn't his story that was going to be told this evening. I did feel that, but I wanted to win myself. But it would have been a fantastic story."

A year ago, Harrington, 36, came from six shots behind after 54 holes to get into a playoff he won at Carnoustie against Sergio García, despite a double bogey on his 72nd hole. There was no such drama this time, as Harrington walked to the 18th tee with a six-shot lead over Norman, and four shots clear of clubhouse leader Ian Poulter of England, the runner-up.

"The way he finished," Norman said later, "a true champion."

Harrington, who earned $1.51 million and moved up to No. 3 in the world rankings, survived three straight bogeys on the final three holes of his front nine, the last blemishes on his round of 1-under-par 69. His 72-hole total of 3-over 283 provided a four-shot victory over Poulter, who posted a 69 -- 287. Harrington played his final six holes in 4 under and nearly had one last 12-foot birdie go in the hole at No. 18. But at that point, it hardly mattered.

Norman looked every bit his 53 years as he walked off the course after a 77 that tied him for third with Sweden's Henrik Stenson (71) at 9-over 289. He had taken a two-shot lead to the first tee, where both he and Harrington were accorded rousing receptions as they prepared to hit their opening shots. Norman then bogeyed his first three holes, and four of the first six. In the end, he was mostly done in by his inability to match Harrington's pure shot-making down the stretch when he had difficulty finding the fairway or making critical putts.

Norman had only one birdie on this day of 30-35 mph winds, down slightly from 50 mph gusts on Saturday. It was still a daunting challenge to the 83 men in the tournament and only six players scored in the 60s. Still, the Australian with two major titles, both in this event, said he was proud of the way he played in one of the wildest weather Opens in recent memory, even if he has now held the 54-hole lead eight times in majors, and only won once.

"I can walk away from here being disappointed," Norman said. "But I can walk away from here with my head held high because I hung in there. Where does it rank [among his toughest losses]? Probably not as high as some of the other ones. Quite honestly, I'm sure I surprised a lot of people. What did Padraig shoot, 69 today? I would have had to shoot 71, and it would have been a tough 71 for me."

The way Harrington was playing down the stretch, even the absent Tiger Woods might have had a tough time keeping up.

Harrington said he never allowed himself to dwell on those three straight bogeys, and also got a huge lift when he made a critical four-foot putt to save a par at the 408-yard No. 10 after misjudging the line and the wind on his first birdie putt from 15 feet.

"Putts like that, even though they're three or four feet, it's important for your own confidence that you're dropping those putts," he said. "You feel like things are going for you in that sort of situation."