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HE was the reigning champion, had a wrist injury prior to the tournament that threatened to prevent him from playing and his form this season had been far from sparkling ... but this did not stop Padraig Harrington winning the British Open for the second year running.
On a sunny but very windy Sunday at Royal Birkdale the Irishman proved again that links golf suits his game perfectly and whilst the four shot victory margin was flattering it was well-deserved given his fantastic final back nine.
It's the part of the four rounds that separates the champions from the also-rans and only the most assured and composed prove to be successful.
The build up to the event was dominated by world number one Tiger Woods absence along with Harrington's injury but during the first three rounds the headlines were grabbed by two issues; the weather and the unlikely early leader Greg Norman, who at 53 and playing for fun only these days, had rediscovered some of the form that had led him to winning two previous British Opens.
Now married to tennis star Chris Evans and a multi-millionaire businessman in his own right he wooed the crowds with some amazing links gold in weather that most had succumbed to. He did get the better of the first two days in terms of the weather conditions but it was still some achievement to go into the final round with a two shot lead. However, some questionable club selection on the last day and a lack of putt making resulted in a 77 to drop to third place. Unlike his previous collapses such as the Masters nightmare against Faldo this was did not appear down to mental fragility just plain old poor play.
Others flattered to deceive, Retief Goosen, KJ Choi, Adam Scott, Jim Furyk and Sergio Garcia included, but all fell away, victims of the gusting winds that howled around the North West coastal course.
It was Englishman Ian Poulter who came out of the pack to look like the one who would test Harrington as a final back nine took off with some great play but his total of seven over was not enough. However, it did mean he came in a clear second.
Poulter, a confident man, receives a lot of stick from both players and media alike for suggesting that he was, bar Woods, the best golfer in the world with a record in majors that did not match this claim. However, he does have undoubted talent and a brilliant putting stroke and this tournament might be the one that leap frogs him into the top ranks of the game and not just the 'promising young guns' group. Only time will tell but it would be a surprise not to see him there again on the final Sunday of a major.
Harrington, meanwhile, who said afterwards, "I had a great year as the Open champion, so much so I did not want to give it back," was all smiles whilst receiving the Claret Jug and being a two-time major winner gives him a new found status within the game. His next challenge will be to win a Major in the US which he found beyond him after the last Open victory.
Harrington is a popular champion and works hard at his game, flamboyant he is not but a model professional he is, who utilises his strength of his iron play to the best effect. He also knows how to win which is essential to falling over the line in the big events and his back nine demonstrated this perfectly.
Whilst virtually every other play was missing fairways and greens Harrington plotted his way through the treacherous conditions to limit the amount of damage he could do to himself. You cannot force low scoring in such conditions, patience certainly is a virtue and Harrington was the calmest man on the course.
Ernie Els had said before the start that the winner "would have to ask themselves whether they would have won if Tiger had been playing".
The Irishman is the one in this position but I doubt very much he cares as he sits down with his trophy and a cheque for £750,000. However, the rest of us will hold a sneaking feeling that the world number one would not have allowed a score of three over par to win a major no matter what the conditions.
We will never know for sure, however, so it is praise indeed for Harrington and an impressive achievement of winning back-to-back events and Irish eyes are certainly smiling on another British Open Sunday night.
