Padraig Harrington found a way.
Despite not having the best result in the final round of the Hogue Classic, the Irishman played well enough on the final hole to have a chance at victory.
And he made the most of the opportunity.
dub liner drained Birdie at 8 feet There was a big fist pump at the 72nd hole, a par 5. The make gave Harrington his seventh career victory on the PGA Tour Champions.
“That’s the great thing about the Champions Tour. It allows us to relive past glories,” said the Irishman.
“Sometimes we hit shots where we feel anxious or nervous or excited. And that doesn’t change, when you have a must-win putt or a winning shot, you don’t want to fail in public. It is.”
However, things looked dire for Harrington after he hit a double bogey on the 16th hole.
Holding a one-stroke lead, the Irishman snapped-hooked his drive and punched it out, hitting his third shot into a bunker but failing to stand up and making bogey.
Thus, Harrington went from holding the lead to trailing Miguel Angel Jimenez and Thongchai Jaydee by a shot difference with two holes remaining.
“I never do what’s easy. Don’t do what’s easy,” Harington later joked. “I think my best characteristic in golf is that I’m good at tackling things even when my back is against the wall.”
But he did not belittle himself. The Dubliner made a great approach on the par-3 17th, giving him an outside chance for birdie from 20 feet.he drained it He remained in the lead at 13 under and walked to the 18th tee.
Meanwhile, Jimenez bogeyed the 17th hole, and Harrington and Jaydee were deadlocked on the final hole.
The Irishman hit his tee shot well to the right on the 18th, perhaps making up for a big mistake two holes earlier. But it didn’t affect him much. He managed to get his second shot into a greenside bunker and went up and down from there.
“I knew I could make birdie-eagle if I needed to. I was very focused and just went for it,” Harrington said.
“I was a little bit unlucky. I hit a good tee shot on the 17th, but at the end it looked like it was a few minutes to the right. And then, of course, my tee shot on the 18th… It was bad, but the second shot went really well in that spot. There was no way I wasn’t going to get up or down from there. When you’re given a chance, you have to take it.”
Meanwhile, Jay Dee also missed the fairway, but made a huge mistake on the green. The 54-year-old Thai hit his second shot short to the green, then his third shot over and over the green, but struggled to make par from there.
This opened the door for Harrington to sink the final birdie putt and win.
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
