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The brutal conditions at Oakland Hills couldn't keep Padraig Harrington from winning his second straight major

That does it: As Garcia watched, Harrington sank a 15-footer on the 72nd hole to steal his victory.

By John Hawkins

Photo By J.D. Cuban

November 28, 2008

If major championships were the Beatles, the PGA Championship would live happily as Ringo, somewhere between the shadows and the background. Apolitical and less demanding than its imperial peers, the PGA has upgraded in recent years with a commitment to premium venues and a player-friendly philosophy on course setups. It doesn't hurt when Tiger Woods wins your tournament four times, either.

Woods wasn't the only notable absentee at Oakland Hills CC, a layout originally conceived to inflict U.S. Open torture, then remodeled twice to ensure future generations of pain. One might have figured PGA of America managing director Kerry Haigh would whip out some Bob Hope Chrysler Classic rough to counter Oakland Hills' diabolical greens, or maybe water the putting surfaces so a few birdies might be made.

That certainly wasn't the case at the 90th PGA. The kinder, gentler major was nowhere to be found, punctuating a year in which pursuit of the game's four biggest titles would extract abnormally high levels of blood, sweat and fears. From the aggressive anti-scoring alterations at Augusta National—two players broke 70 in the final round—to the USGA's rendition of Torrey Pines and a wind-whipped Royal Birkdale, 2008 was a good time to make 15-footers for par.

For 2½ days, Oakland Hills might have been the meanest. Haigh not only grew the rough, he had the grounds crew rake it back toward the tees to make shotmaking more difficult. Those who did hit fairways were forced to putt defensively on the tilts and mounds. Both nines finished with killer stretches—the field made a grand total of two birdies on the seventh, eighth and ninth holes in the final round. There were three birdies Friday on the 17th and 18th. Sunday, that number soared all the way to six.

"Majors are supposed to be difficult, but they're not supposed to be absolute root canals, and that's how they're all getting," said Steve Flesch, who finished sixth. "If we're trying to attract people to golf, and they [come to watch], why would they go, 'I want to play that game?' It's fun to watch guys make birdies. The PGA is committed to growing the game. Is this how they want golf to be portrayed?"

Enter Mother Nature, who has been known to wreck a lot more tournaments than she has helped. When a Saturday afternoon downpour halted play in southeastern Michigan with the final three pairings yet to tee off in the third round, the suspension led to a very different PGA. Softer greens meant better scoring. Better scoring would define a 36-hole Sunday that became more compelling by the hour, resulting in one of the year's most dramatic finishes and a worthy champion who plays his best golf when it matters most.

Weather or not, Padraig Harrington still might have claimed his third major victory in 13 months, although one suspects it wouldn't have been with a pair of 66s Sunday, or by holing three huge putts down the stretch to outlast Sergio Garcia, whose residency at the Heartbreak Hotel was extended until April '09. Harrington is golf's ultimate grinder, the first European to win the PGA in 78 years, just three weeks removed from a brilliant final nine in fierce conditions and a successful defense of his British Open crown.

In situations that demand supreme mental toughness, the Irishman may not be Woods' equal, but he is the closest thing without orange-and-black stripes on the headcover of his driver, and this was as close as things get to a one-day major. Faced with a long haul over a short stretch, those in contention would have to deal with fatigue and competitive mood swings, a course that had changed radically from a day earlier and a 20-degree drop in the temperature.

You had to adapt and adjust, all while keeping a positive mindset and staying in the moment for 10 hours, which isn't easier said than done because it all sounds pretty hard. "You get chances in a major tournament on the back nine, and you've got to take them," Harrington assessed. "I'm a great believer in making it your responsibility whether you win or don't win."

If the value of a sport psychologist is impossible to measure and difficult for many to justify, Harrington has become a human advertisement for the services of Dr. Bob Rotella, whose decades of working with tour pros had never produced a player so strong between the ears or as dependable in the clutch. Paddy didn't even turn pro until he was 24 years old, mainly because he wasn't good enough, and though he obviously has made massive improvement since, his development included a lengthy stretch of second-place finishes on the European Tour.