So Harrington had a one shot lead going into the sixteenth, and then gave the entire tournament away with an amateurish chunk into the water. He took an eight, and Tiger pegged a birdie for a four shot swing.
And Tiger wins number 70.
I’m really getting tired of these contenders self destructing and giving away victories to Tiger.
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Tiger birdied 18. He finished at -12 to Harrington’s -8.
Again, maybe if they’re tied he doesn’t do that, but then again, he might also have made the putt on 17… we don’t know. Just saying that, if you give Paddy the par and keep their other two scores the same (17 and 18), Tiger still wins.
Plus, Tiger shot a front-nine 30. It’s not like he slapped it around all day and Paddy caved late to let Tiger win with a 71 or something.
Obviously I’m not saying that the outcome would have necessarily been the same, but Tiger won by four. Give Paddy an up and down there for a par and Tiger still beats him by one.
But yeah, it was a great battle right up until the one-hopper into the drink. That made the last two holes a yawner.
Great news for Tiger fan…
Putting on my tinfoil hat, I have to say that when I saw that 16 was Harrington’s downfall, my first thought was that the outcome had been ‘pre-determined’ as they say in pro-wrestling. There was absolutely no reason for him to make an 8 on that hole.
Actually Mirana, I’ve gone to the Grassy Knoll a few times myself
In this case, Harrington had been put “on the clock” by a PGA Tour official and was in danger of being penalized if he didn’t hurry up
Make of that what you will. Tiger himself said he thought that was a factor.
I may be wrong, but I seem to remember that Harrington was up by one at that point. So a par to Tiger’s bird would have made it even.
Tiger was on the clock, too. Didn’t make him chunk his 8I or anything.
Actually, the official that put Tiger and Padraig on the clock is a European Tour employee and not a PGA official. I suppose a conspiracy theorist would surmise that the payback to the European Tour would be future (and more numerous) commitments from Tiger to play in their tournaments.
I tend to go with the idea that Tiger has an uncanny ability to perform when the heat is on. Others, including Harrington, are capable of reaching the same level of performance, just not with the same consistency.