Harrington Repeats as Open Champ
Irishman, Padraig Harrington (pictured above with his family) quietly won Britain’s Open Championship yesterday, his second Open victory in a row and his first win since he was awarded the Claret Cup in 2007. While the world was fascinated by 53-year-old (and two-time Open winner) Greg Norman’s place at the top of the leaderboard, Harrington played solid golf all week, despite an injured wrist and brutal weather conditions that included up to 40 mph winds.
Though Norman was leading by one stroke going into the back nine on the final round, Harrington rose to the occasion, sinking three straight birdie putts and scoring an eagle on the 17th hole. It was enough to win by 4 strokes over Ian Poulter and 5 strokes over Norman and Henrik Stenson of Sweden, who tied for third.
Another noteworthy performance that got lost in all of the excitement was the 5th place finish of 20-year-old British amateur golfer, Chris Wood. Said Wood, “It was the best week of my life.”
…and they said that golf without Tiger would be boring!
(photo © Newscom)