Monday, December
9, 2002
Harrington lets
Tiger make the mistakes
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
THOUSAND OAKS, Calif.
(AP) - Two holes into the final round, Padraig Harrington extended
his lead to eight strokes over Tiger Woods and then braced for
the worst Sunday in the Target World Challenge.
"I knew Tiger
would come at me," Harrington said. "I heard someone
say on No. 13, 'Oh, Tiger is in his head.' I'm thinking, 'He's
been in there all day.'"
He had no idea the
most crucial mistakes would belong to Woods.
In an exciting end
to the silly season, Harrington let Woods back into contention
with a double bogey on the 14th hole, then watched the world's
No. 1 player fall apart with two bad swings that allowed the Irishman
to escape with a two-shot victory.
Harrington closed
with a 1-under 71 and won $1 million, the biggest payoff in his
career.
"That's like
winning the lottery in Ireland," Harrington said.
His eight-stroke
lead was down to three when Harrington hit a 7-iron that bounced
into someone's backyard. He had to get up-and-down from a fluffy
lie on the side of a hill just to make double bogey and keep the
lead.
Another meltdown
followed, only this one belonged to Woods.
From the middle of
the fairway on the par-5 16th, Woods pulled a 3-iron some 40 yards
left of the green and into the trees, in such a precarious lie
that he couldn't even take a backswing. He hacked out to the bottom
of the hill against a branch, punched it through the green and
then chipped in for par.
Needing a birdie
on the final hole for a chance at a playoff, Woods blocked his
approach well right of the green and took bogey to finish with
a 67.
That was the end
of what would have been his best comeback in the final round when
paired with the leader. His previous best was four strokes last
year to Vijay Singh at Sherwood Country Club.
"I had a pretty
good shot at it," Woods said. "I had two bad swings,
and that cost me."
Harrington finished
at 268 and won for the third time in the last two months. He also
won the Dunhill Links Championship, the richest event on the European
tour; and the Asian Open two weeks ago, the first tournament of
the 2003 European tour schedule.
This one doesn't
count in the record books, although it should go a long way in
reminding Harrington that he can compete against the best.
He was paired with
Woods in the final group Saturday at the U.S. Open and was blown
out of contention, and also finished well back after being paired
with Woods the first two days in Ireland for the American Express
Championship.
"I count it,"
Harrington said. "Against Tiger? Yes. Against a world-class
field? Yes."
Harrington more than
held his own at Sherwood, although he could have done without
the thrills at the end.
"It wouldn't
be entertaining without the two of us," Harrington said.
"I'm usually the one who is second-best."
Not this time, in
spite of himself.
Harrington's tee
shot on No. 14 landed in a large, rectangular area marked "ground
under repair." Harrington declined his free drop, because
that would have require a sweeping draw around a tree that blocked
his flight to the green.
He yanked his approach,
anyway, and the ball caromed off a hill left of the green, bounced
on a cart path and rolled through a 6-inch gap in an iron fence,
stopping just short of coming back through the fence and into
play.
His next shot also
was left, but stayed on the side of the hill. Harrington played
a delicate flop shot to 5 feet and made the putt for double bogey,
keeping the lead when Woods missed an 18-foot birdie putt.
Momentum seemed to
be in Woods' favor, and the pressure figured to be even more intense
for Harrington after squandering such a large lead.
"If you lose
it to anybody, it's bad," Davis Love III said after finishing
his round. "If you lose it to Tiger, it makes you even more
nervous."
Harrington, however,
said he felt confident after escaping with double bogey when the
score could have been worse. He played like it, making a good
par on the 15th and reaching the 16th in two shots for a routine
birdie.
Woods kept it exciting,
too.
He chipped in for
par to keep within range, then made an 8-footer for birdie on
the 17th to close the gap to one stroke.
"I was fighting
my swing today," Woods said. "On No. 16, I got stuck
and I flipped it. On 18, I got stuck and I blocked it."
Woods chipped 10
feet by the hole and missed the putt, allowing Harrington to relax
for the first time all day.
"Three putts
to win? Yes, I was breathing quite comfortably," he said.
Love closed with
a 65 to finish third at 272, followed by Colin Montgomerie (68)
and Bernhard Langer (69).
Woods earned $500,000
for second place, which he donated to his foundation. He now takes
four weeks off, returning to the season-opening Mercedes Championships
at Kapalua.
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