Harrington closes in on another claret jug
Harrington closes in on another claret jug
SOUTHPORT, England - Padraig Harrington closed in on his second straight British Open championship Sunday. Not bad for a guy who wasn't sure he'd be able to play. Greg Norman's hopes of becoming golf's oldest major champion were fading, done in by a rash of bogeys that broke out right at the start. The 53-year-old Aussie bogeyed the first three holes to quickly surrender the two-shot lead he had going to the final round.
English favorite Ian Poulter, nattily dressed as always in peach-colored pants, was the leader in the clubhouse after shooting a 1-under 69. A roar went up across Royal Birkdale when he sank a 15-footer for birdie at the 16th, pulling into a tie for the lead with Harrington.
But Poulter's hopes took a blow when he three-putted for par at the par-5 17th, though he did give himself hope with a gutty par putt at the last hole for a 7-over 287.
Harrington, who only got in nine holes of practice this week because of a sore wrist, overcame a stretch of three straight bogeys just before the turn on another blustery day at Royal Birkdale and was 5 under with three holes to play.
Norman actually had the lead going to the back side, despite his erratic play, but Harrington quickly reclaimed it when the Shark bogeyed the 10th and 12th holes.
With Norman fading, Harrington made his first birdie of the day, rolling in a 12-foot putt at No. 13. He added a two-putt birdie at the par-5 15th, giving him a two-shot lead on Poulter and three on Norman, who picked up his first birdie of the round at the same hole with a dazzling up-and-down from the pot bunker, the sand blowing in his face.
Harrington was trying to become the first European in more than a century to defend his Open title. He won last year in a playoff with Sergio Garcia after nearly throwing it away on the 72nd hole at Carnoustie, where he hit two balls into the Barry Burn and had to scramble for a double-bogey.
This year, he wasn't sure he could play after injuring his right wrist last weekend swinging into an "impact bag," sort of a punching bag for golfers.
He had to cut short a practice round Tuesday and gave up after just three swings on Wednesday. That day, he put his chances of teeing off at 75 percent and his hopes of finishing at 50 percent. Nobody even asked him for his odds of winning.
As if to show these were his kind of conditions, Harrington shed his wind jacket heading to the second hole and played in a short-sleeved shirt while most of the other players bundled up on the sunny but windy day.
K.J. Choi, the 36-hole leader and tied with Harrington at two strokes back after the third round, had a miserable day on the greens. The South Korean missed one short putt after another for a 6-over 40 on the front side, knocking him out of contention.
American phenom Anthony Kim, already a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year at age 23, was trying to become the youngest major winner since Tiger Woods at the 1997 Masters. But he finished with three straight bogeys for a 75, leaving him with a 292 total.
Henrik Stenson of Sweden was at 289 after a 71, while English amateur Chris Wood put up the most surprising round. The 20-year-old shot 72 and was assured of a top-10 finish at 290. Jim Furyk also was at 10 over with a 71.
Now a part-time player, Norman was at 2-over 212 through three days and seeking to win one for the ages. Julius Boros was the oldest major champion, winning the 1968 PGA Championship when he was 48.
The Shark had not taken a lead into the last round of a major since the 1996 Masters, where his epic collapse cleared the way for Nick Faldo to claim the green jacket. Harrington and Choi started at 214.
Wearing a black cap and sweater, Norman landed in a pot bunker with his approach at No. 1 and barely reached the green with his blast-out, sand blowing in his face. He missed about a 25-footer to save par, the ball skidding over the right edge of the cup.
Norman took another bogey at the second after driving into the beaten-down rough left of the fairway, then pulling a 6-iron left of the green between two bunkers. The chip rolled 6 feet past the cup, and Norman missed the downhill putt to lose another stroke.
At No. 3, more of the same. Norman drove into the rough again and wound up missing an 8-foot putt, after Harrington had calmly rolled in a 12-footer that pushed him into the lead all by himself.
No one broke par in the third round, but that changed for the early starters Sunday. David Howell fired a 3-under 67, equaling the second-best score of the week. Thomas Aiken shot 68, while Ernie Els and Robert Karlsson both posted 69s. Even David Duval bounced back, making 71 after an ugly 83 sent him tumbling out of contention the previous day.
The wind picked up, however, with gusts of 45 mph in the forecast as the final groups were in the middle of their rounds. The scores reflected the tougher conditions, with no one breaking par in the afternoon until Poulter's round.
SOUTHPORT, England - Padraig Harrington closed in on his second straight British Open championship Sunday. Not bad for a guy who wasn't sure he'd be able to play. Greg Norman's hopes of becoming golf's oldest major champion were fading, done in by a rash of bogeys that broke out right at the start. The 53-year-old Aussie bogeyed the first three holes to quickly surrender the two-shot lead he had going to the final round.English favorite Ian Poulter, nattily dressed as always in peach-colored pants, was the leader in the clubhouse after shooting a 1-under 69. A roar went up across Royal Birkdale when he sank a 15-footer for birdie at the 16th, pulling into a tie for the lead with Harrington.
But Poulter's hopes took a blow when he three-putted for par at the par-5 17th, though he did give himself hope with a gutty par putt at the last hole for a 7-over 287.
Harrington, who only got in nine holes of practice this week because of a sore wrist, overcame a stretch of three straight bogeys just before the turn on another blustery day at Royal Birkdale and was 5 under with three holes to play.
Norman actually had the lead going to the back side, despite his erratic play, but Harrington quickly reclaimed it when the Shark bogeyed the 10th and 12th holes.
With Norman fading, Harrington made his first birdie of the day, rolling in a 12-foot putt at No. 13. He added a two-putt birdie at the par-5 15th, giving him a two-shot lead on Poulter and three on Norman, who picked up his first birdie of the round at the same hole with a dazzling up-and-down from the pot bunker, the sand blowing in his face.
Harrington was trying to become the first European in more than a century to defend his Open title. He won last year in a playoff with Sergio Garcia after nearly throwing it away on the 72nd hole at Carnoustie, where he hit two balls into the Barry Burn and had to scramble for a double-bogey.
This year, he wasn't sure he could play after injuring his right wrist last weekend swinging into an "impact bag," sort of a punching bag for golfers.
He had to cut short a practice round Tuesday and gave up after just three swings on Wednesday. That day, he put his chances of teeing off at 75 percent and his hopes of finishing at 50 percent. Nobody even asked him for his odds of winning.
As if to show these were his kind of conditions, Harrington shed his wind jacket heading to the second hole and played in a short-sleeved shirt while most of the other players bundled up on the sunny but windy day.
K.J. Choi, the 36-hole leader and tied with Harrington at two strokes back after the third round, had a miserable day on the greens. The South Korean missed one short putt after another for a 6-over 40 on the front side, knocking him out of contention.
American phenom Anthony Kim, already a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this year at age 23, was trying to become the youngest major winner since Tiger Woods at the 1997 Masters. But he finished with three straight bogeys for a 75, leaving him with a 292 total.
Henrik Stenson of Sweden was at 289 after a 71, while English amateur Chris Wood put up the most surprising round. The 20-year-old shot 72 and was assured of a top-10 finish at 290. Jim Furyk also was at 10 over with a 71.
Now a part-time player, Norman was at 2-over 212 through three days and seeking to win one for the ages. Julius Boros was the oldest major champion, winning the 1968 PGA Championship when he was 48.
The Shark had not taken a lead into the last round of a major since the 1996 Masters, where his epic collapse cleared the way for Nick Faldo to claim the green jacket. Harrington and Choi started at 214.
Wearing a black cap and sweater, Norman landed in a pot bunker with his approach at No. 1 and barely reached the green with his blast-out, sand blowing in his face. He missed about a 25-footer to save par, the ball skidding over the right edge of the cup.
Norman took another bogey at the second after driving into the beaten-down rough left of the fairway, then pulling a 6-iron left of the green between two bunkers. The chip rolled 6 feet past the cup, and Norman missed the downhill putt to lose another stroke.
At No. 3, more of the same. Norman drove into the rough again and wound up missing an 8-foot putt, after Harrington had calmly rolled in a 12-footer that pushed him into the lead all by himself.
No one broke par in the third round, but that changed for the early starters Sunday. David Howell fired a 3-under 67, equaling the second-best score of the week. Thomas Aiken shot 68, while Ernie Els and Robert Karlsson both posted 69s. Even David Duval bounced back, making 71 after an ugly 83 sent him tumbling out of contention the previous day.
The wind picked up, however, with gusts of 45 mph in the forecast as the final groups were in the middle of their rounds. The scores reflected the tougher conditions, with no one breaking par in the afternoon until Poulter's round.
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