Paddy Plays the Perfect Foil

CHASKA, Minn.

The way it usually goes, when Tiger Woods shoots a low number in a major, everyone turns to mush. But at least one guy is prepared to go after Woods in this PGA Championship, and it's the same guy who took him on just last week. Somehow, Padraig Harrington has gotten the idea he and Woods are equals, and that's a good thing for golf.

It's time somebody breathed on Woods's neck, became a legitimate challenger, an adversary. Up to this point in his career Woods's toughest opponent has been a bum knee. If that sounds like I'm taking something away from the rest of the field, I am. Woods's 14 major championships are a grand feat, but you can't help wondering what his numbers would look like if his competition wasn't so compliant, if he had opponents of the same quality who pushed Jack Nicklaus to his 18 majors, and took a few away from him, too. The Lee Trevinos and Tom Watsons. "There is that element of 'Who is challenging Tiger?' " Watson remarked during the British Open.

The answer after Thursday's opening round of the PGA at Hazeltine was Harrington. Woods's score of 5-under-par 67 is ominous: On the last four occasions that he has held the first-round lead in a major, he has won. But Harrington, playing alongside Woods in a threesome, was hardly submissive as he chased him down with a 68, and all but promised to continue shadowing him.

"Four under par is always a good return in a major," Harrington said. "I think there is a factor that Tiger is 5 under par and looks like he could move away, and the key will obviously be, if he's moving away, to make sure I'm moving away with him."

Last month, after Woods missed the cut at the British Open and the 59-year-old Watson outperformed the remaining field to nearly win it, Golf Digest's Jaime Diaz charged the current generation of players with "decadence." That a semi-retiree with a replaced hip almost won the British "frankly, exposed them as wanting," Diaz wrote, adding that they were too sated with prize money and aided by autopilot equipment that awards them accuracy and length.

There is evidence to support the accusation. In 2008, a ridiculous total of 104 players on the PGA Tour made more than $1 million dollars in winnings. The 125th man on the list made $852,752.

One thing about Woods is, as much money as he has, he's got even more ambition, and it appears Harrington has a similar makeup. Only a perfectionist would retool his swing after winning three major championships to correct a minor fault, as Harrington has. And only a competitor of real mettle could bounce back from a devastating loss to Woods, be paired with him the very next week in the PGA, and shoot 68.

Harrington comes off as easygoing, a cheerful, trill-voiced Irishman, who rolls along the course, swaybacked with an uneven gait, like he's walking on the deck of a boat. His swing is a loosey, relaxed thing. But he's got a toughness and resilience to him, he's like a pop-up toy that won't stay down. He's the king of good attitude.

"I could go from finishing on Sunday night devastated about losing, to going on the range and being the most optimistic person in the world, especially when I go to practice, that I'm going to find the secret," he says.

It's become obvious from Woods's remarks and body language this week that he respects Harrington more than the vast majority of his competition. When their riveting duel at the Bridgestone Invitational last Sunday was ruined by an official who put them "on the clock," rushing Harrington into a triple bogey at the 16th hole, Woods went public with his regret, and criticism of the official. Asked by Associated Press reporter Doug Ferguson if he would have taken up for any of his other rivals, Woods answered with a pointed no comment.

What Woods did say is that he has admired Harrington's work habit for years -- ever since he saw him walk to the driving range in his shirtsleeves one chilly evening after a charity event to hone his game. It was that same ethic that made Harrington determined to fix what he considered a flaw in his downswing -- something about cupping his left wrist. The rebuilding effort cost him dearly this season, as he missed six cuts, and he had to put up with critics who questioned his intelligence for tinkering with success.

"I'm not happy unless I'm changing," Harrington said earlier this week. "I'm working on something. I wouldn't be motivated to get out there and practice unless I thought I was getting better. This was an area of my game that had annoyed me for two and a half, three years, all the way through those majors I had won. I'm always trying to get better. I couldn't -- there would be no point in trying to stand still."

It's a message you hope the younger generation, players like Hunter Mahan, Rory McIlroy and Alvaro Quiros, are getting. You also hope they emulate Harrington in his refusal to whine, even about being harassed by an official into a triple bogey. "I reacted poorly to the situation, and that's my own fault," he maintained.

One of the more familiar whines from players who occasionally try to challenge Woods is that it's "difficult" to play with him: The noise and size of the galleries and the legion of cameras are distracting and unnerving. The surest sign that Harrington is likely to remain a creditable rival to Woods is that he refuses to buy into that nonsense. He actually likes playing with the best golfer in the world, in front of the largest crowds. That alone is evidence that he will continue to do so.

"You know, the great thing is if you're playing with Tiger Woods you're doing well," he said after Thursday's round. "That's always going to be the case. If you're playing with him first couple of rounds, you're a marquee draw. If you're playing with him at the end of the week you're always going to be in contention. If you don't want to be in that spot, you shouldn't be playing golf. So it's always a good sign if you're matched up with Tiger. It means you're in the right place. You know, it's where you want to be."