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Jul 20
After sustaining a wrist injury the week before, Paddy said he was playing at Royal Birkdale only because it was a major and he was defending champion. A year after becoming the first Irishman to win the Open Championship since Fred Perry in 1947, he became the fifth player to repeat as champion in the last 52 years, following Tiger Woods -- who did it in 2005 and 2006. With Tiger nowhere in sight, all Harrington had to do was tame the 40 mph winds that raked the course and fight off a Great White Shark. He was shaky down the stretch a year ago before holding off Sergio Garcia in a playoff at Carnoustie, but this time he played the back nine Sunday in a flawless 4 under par to win by four strokes over Ian Poulter as Greg Norman faltered in the end. Harrington didn't really miss a shot in the final holes, smoking his 5-wood second shot from 249 yards to within three feet for an eagle on the 17th hole that provided an exclamation point. Paddy nursed his right wrist through a first-round 74 and then played through the brutal conditions at Birkdale in 1 under par over the last 54 holes. Playing in the last group Sunday for the first time in a major, he seemed to be losing it with three consecutive bogeys through the turn, but those were his only stumbles in the final round. Harrington, who rose to a career-high third in the World Golf Rankings this week, is expected to celebrate with the folks in Dublin this week before heading back to the U.S. for the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. |
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