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Harrington makes Open history in style

February 17, 2011

By Staff Reporter

At Carnoustie 12 months ago, he almost had it won, lost it, saw Sergio Garcia nearly win, and then finally won it himself in a play-off. It was an exhilarating, exhausting, nail-biting couple of hours that ended in tears of relief as much as joy.
There had been plenty of people in Ireland who admired Padraig Harrington, but they’d given up hope that he’d ever win a major. Now that he’d crossed the line, they celebrated with him, but no one was entertaining too much hope that he’d do it again.
And at Birkdale, he had to deal with the burden of being the defending champion, as well as an injured wrist which hampered his preparation, but this time, he had both hands firmly on the Claret Jug with no one like Garcia tugging at the handle.
Majors in general really do tend to start on the back nine on a Sunday, and after three bogeys in a row before the turn at a windswept Birkdale, Harrington was dealing with a crisis in his final round. His response? To take control of the tournament in such a commanding way, that he left himself with the luxury of a walk down the 18th fairway during which he could truly absorb and revel in the moment.
His back nine of four under par 32 will go down as one of the great major efforts in such demanding conditions. Last year, it seemed as if he had stumbled over the line, but this time, he blew the opposition away with a series of stunning shots which culminated in a superb five-wood from 249 yards at the 17th hole to set up a championship-winning eagle.
Not so long ago, too many Irish sportsmen and women were content just to be in the arena. They were there, they tried, and sure, it didn’t matter too much if they failed. Harrington is now a template for a newer, more confident generation of athletes from this country. During his personal voyage of relentless self-improvement, he has paid attention to detail, he has done everything within his compass to make himself a better player, he has worked incredibly hard, and he has never been content with finishing second.
He has never accepted his limitations.
And Harrington moved to the top without ever losing the run of himself, without ever forgetting who he is and where he’s from. He is as polite, generous and grounded as he was when he first started out as a pro.
You could sense last Sunday, as he killed his drive at the 72nd hole, a new level of confidence. Tiger Woods mightn’t have been at Birkdale, but he was at Carnoustie last year. If sometime next season, the two go head-to-head over the closing holes of a major, you wouldn’t want to miss it.

Dublin book semi berth
Wexford came into last Sunday’s Leinster football final as the only unbeaten team in Ireland. If tradition suggested they wouldn’t have enough firepower or enough self-belief to prevent Dublin from winning a fourth title in succession, quite a few seasoned observers still tipped them to win. They were wrong, and Wexford were humiliated. As an old Aussie coach once put it: “Cocks of the walk one week, feather dusters the next.”
During the first half they were respectable, holding Dublin to a three-point lead, but after the interval, they were simply swept away by an irresistible wave of scores. Such a complete capitulation was hard to explain, but think of a trickle becoming a damn burst and you’ll get the idea.
What had promised to be a red-letter day in front of a crowd of just over 80,000 at Croke Park quickly turned into a slap in the face. Wexford were outscored by 3-13 to 0-2 in that ridiculously one-sided second half as Ciaran Whelan and Shane Ryan mopped up everything that was on offer in midfield to create opening after opening for Alan Brogan, Diarmuid Connolly, Jason Sherlock and Conal Keaney.
Dublin might have been fast, furious and undeniably accurate, and they’ve added a little more fuel to the fire of their All Ireland ambitions with what was a hugely impressive performance, but they’ve now come through to the quarter-finals having overcome Louth, Westmeath and an underwhelming Wexford. That might not be demanding enough preparation for what is to follow.
“We’ve had enough harsh lessons for us to remain very calm about where we are and where we want to go,” said manager Paul Caffrey. “Nobody wanted that to happen to Wexford, they’ve been the story of the year so far. How good it will be for us going forward remains to be seen.”
Still, all Dublin can do as they chase the ultimate prize is hurdle each obstacle put in front of them, and last Sunday they flew the second half barrier. With the breeze at their backs, the demolition began with goals in quick succession from Connolly, Brogan and sub, Mark Vaughan. Meanwhile, the winner’s defense was also in total control restricting Matty Forde to two points, and from then on Wexford had to endure what was left of a contest which had become a rout.
“The second half just didn’t happen, they came out hard and the gap just grew and grew,” explained Wexford coach, Jason Ryan. “If they develop any momentum in the forwards, you’re in trouble. We couldn’t answer it, and the amount of breaking ball they picked up was unbelievable.”
The worry now for Ryan and Wexford is the amount of scar tissue that might have accumulated from this defeat as they head for the choppy waters of the qualifiers. As for Dublin, they have a clean bill of health as they prepare for the next challenge.

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