Tulsa, Okla. – Perhaps it wasn’t quite two ships passing in the night, but leaving Firestone Country Club in Ohio at the conclusion of last week’s Bridgestone Invitational, Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia saw each other for the first time since the former defeated the latter at the British Open.
It was a major championship victory that may have been less than an inch – the amount the Spaniard’s putt on the 72nd hole of regulation missed by – from going the other way, literally.
Had that been the case, Harrington said, “I would have gone out there and played golf, tried really hard to get some semblance of scores, but I would have found it hard. The real difficulty would be when I got myself in a similar position again, how I would have felt about it.
“I don’t think I’m going to have that many chances to win majors, so you don’t want to give one up at all.”
As much as Harrington, Masters champion Zach Johnson and U.S. Open winner Angel Cabrera should be lauded for taking their championships, the 2007 major season could be remembered for the crushing defeats they fostered – from Tiger Woods letting a final-round advantage slip away at Augusta, to Jim Furyk’s ill-timed decision to hit driver on the 71st hole at Oakmont, to Garcia’s rough close at Carnoustie.
Beginning today, they face one final chance at redemption, the PGA Championship at steamy Southern Hills Country Club. By the weekend, the temperatures are expected to be in triple digits, potentially further frazzling the sensibilities of 156 players whose pressure thermometers have likely already reached the boiling point.
It has been three years since Woods finished a year without winning a major. For that to happen in 2007 would be doubly disappointing, given he had the final-round lead at some point in the Masters and the U.S. Open. Not emerging with either trophy has opened the door to the idea that the top-ranked player’s stranglehold on the psyche of his peers, and with it almost assumed major wins, had come to a close.
That may have changed with Woods’ dominant victory in the Bridgestone. However, even with four titles this year, Woods admits the season couldn’t really be considered successful unless he wins this week.
“It’s been pretty good, but not great,” Woods said at his pre-tournament news conference. “I just think the major championships are valued that highly, and I’ve come close, but I just haven’t gotten it done yet.”
Garcia may be the player who will draw the most scrutiny this week. After the British three weeks ago, the 27-year-old came off as a petulant whiner, blaming his loss on everything from having to wait an inordinate amount of time on the 72nd hole, to bad breaks that no other player in the game has had to endure.
“Yeah, I was emotional,” Garcia said Wednesday regarding the Open aftermath. “I opened myself up and said what I felt, that’s pretty much it. I don’t want to take anything away from Padraig winning. I felt like I played well enough to win it, and unfortunately it didn’t happen. Definitely if a couple of breaks would have gone my way, it would have been a different story.”
In the aftermath of Carnoustie, Garcia said he found relief on the tennis court and at the beach, the combination enabling him to get away from golf a little bit. Now, he said he’s anxious to see what happens in his next major – even if it means more drama on the 72nd hole.
“I’d rather be ahead by eight shots, but you know what? Right now, I would take leading the tournament by one shot. I’ll take it right now,” he said. “If I’m winning by six, I’m not going to say no. I’m not going to make a 10 on the 17th hole to be leading by one on 18.
“But I’m looking forward to it. I’d love to be in that same position I was in a couple of weeks ago and see what I can do.”
Staff writer Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
Major disappointments
A look at the final-round breakdowns during the 2007 majors:
MASTERS
A rare event when Tiger Woods has the lead on the final day only to give it up. After a birdie on No. 2 to take the lead, a bogey on No. 6 and a missed 10-foot birdie putt on No. 14 – combined with Zack Johnson’s steady play – ended Woods’ hopes.
U.S. OPEN
After birdies on Nos. 13, 14 and 15, Jim Furyk was tied for the lead when he hit a driver on the 306-yard, par-4 No. 17. Any shot at winning was gone when his tee shot went left and he took bogey.
BRITISH OPEN
After leading from the first round, Sergio Garcia left his tournament-winning putt on the 72nd hole an inch short and then lost in the playoff.
