I'm not sure if the word clutch really justifies what just happened at Oakland Hills.
On the back nine of a major for the second consecutive time, Irishman and constant lip bitter Padraig Harrington fired another 32 that included one of the better putts you'll ever see to capture the PGA Championship.
Harrington had never finished in the top-10 at a PGA, but that all changed with consecutive 66s on a marathon day in Michigan, topping Sergio Garcia and Ben Curtis by two shots.
The cyst of the course at Oakland Hills is 16, 17 and 18, and Harrington made putts on those three that you can only dream about. First came the 16th, where Padraig hit an uncharacteristicly bad iron shot from the fairway, leaving himself a 15-footer for par. Dead center there was strike one. Next came the par-3 17th, where he hit one of the better shots of the day and rolled that right in the heart for birdie. Strike two. Finally, the par-4 18th, that had yielded just one birdie all day, and that was a holed shot from Steve Flesch. A bad drive, an even worse fairway bunker shot followed up with a solid iron shot to 15-feet left him a par putt he cashed for the win. Strike three, Sergio's out.This is Harrington's third major victory in the last six, a feat that noone has done during the Tiger Woods era other than Mr. Woods.
After the round, Garcia spoke about Harrington's victory.
"He played well, he definitely played well on the back nine and he deserved it."In a year that most thought would be remembered for the Woods injury, it might be time to give 2008 to Harrington. With the Ryder Cup heading our way, it will be the Americans facing those dead center rolls. God save us from the Irish beast.
