The understated genius of Padraig Harrington
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It is fitting that the sports moment of the year came from the sports star of the year. Even those immune to the charms of golf are likely to have marvelled at Padraig Harrington's audacious approach shot which set up a decisive eagle at the 17th hole in the final round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale -- a moment of brilliance that helped the Dubliner retain his title.
Watching Harrington execute a shot of such difficulty at such a critical stage of an especially tense final round was thrilling. He had to keep his nerve because, had it gone badly wrong, defeat could have been snatched from the jaws of victory.
He -- and we -- need not have worried. And seeing this most likable of sports personalities walk to the 18th knowing that a second consecutive Open title was his meant the third Sunday in July was especially sweet for Irish sports fans.
Harrington had been haunted by the tag of golf's Nearly Man. He had come in second on 29 occasions on the Tour and hadn't come close to winning a Major. But that was then. The 37-year-old is a different animal now: a golfer to be feared -- and respected.
Harrington put the choker tag to bed last year at Carn-oustie when he won the Open after a dramatic playoff. But if 2007 was a year in which Harrington came good, 2008 would be the year he truly conquered.
His Open victory in July, coming on the back of a debilitating wrist injury, would be in more comfortable fashion than his exploits of the previous year. That stunning shot at the 17th helped, naturally, but the manner in which he negotiated the notoriously tough course at Birkdale and adapted his game to the appalling weather conditions made his triumph all the greater.
That achievement alone might have been enough to put him at the top of the tree for the year, but the following month, in Detroit, he made sure of it. He collected his first Major on American soil when he battled the pain barrier to win the US PGA Championship -- something that helped morale back home as the reality of recession hit home and the country was being found badly wanting at the Olympics.
And the manner in which he won the US PGA captured the imagination. Although at five over par after two rounds, he shot eight under par for the weekend, carding successive scores of 66 in the third and fourth rounds.
Harrington became the first European to win the US PGA Championship in 78 years (Tommy Armour won in 1930), and the first Irish winner.
"He has had an astonishing year," says Today FM sports broadcaster Michael McMullan. "To win back-to-back Majors is an achievement of Tiger Woods proportions. He helped make up for disappointments in other sports and gave the country something to be proud of on two separate occasions. His achievements cannot be overstated."
Although Europe, with Padraig Harrington in tow, performed badly in the Ryder Cup, McMullan says his triumphs consolidated his position as thegreatest European golfer of his generation.
"He is the only European to win a Major this decade," he says. "I think he is one of the greatest Irish sports figures ever because his achievements have had an impact on the world stage -- unlike the achievements of the Munster rugby team, for instance, which wouldn't have been such a big story in many parts of the globe."
For Vincent Hogan, the Irish Independent's chief sports writer, Harrington's twin Major victories show how far he has come as a golfer.
"He's truly in the premier league now," he says. "He has improved all aspects of his game and his mental strength is remarkable -- you could really see that on the 17th in the final round of the Open. He has worked so hard on his game -- from the technical and physiological side and you can be sure that, right now, he's trying to find ways to improve his competitive edge."
Michael McMullan att-ended both Open Championships and says the atmosphere compares favourably with any event he has covered. "There was a huge amount of support for Harrington last year and this. He is hugely popular with the crowd because he is a genuinely likeable character who has kept his feet on the ground.
"If anything, success has made him even more humble and approachable."
And that, in a year in which petulance was taken to a new level by footballers Stephen Ireland and Cristiano Ronaldo, makes for a refreshing change.
"He is very grounded and not given to confrontation," Vincent Hogan says. "He's had his problems with [Sergio] Garcia, and he's expressed that in private, but he's never gone public about it. It just wouldn't be in his nature. He's an exceptionally well-brought-up guy, who never forgot his roots and he's very proud to be Irish."
There's humility to the man and he constantly talks about learning new things. It is this mix of unstinting dedication and a willingness to try new things that could help the golfer add to his glittering trophy room well into the next decade.
"At 37, he is at his peak as a golfer and could have another five years of top-class golf in him," McMullan says. "Now that he has three Majors under his belt, his appetite will be stronger than ever. . . but what a year he's had."
