Harrington has no regrets

Golf/US Open Follow-up: One by one, they blew it. As it has always been at the US Open, the hardest question is asked right at the death; and, for Padraig Harrington, just as it was for Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie and Jim Furyk, the answer that was provided in the stern examination set by the West Course at Winged Foot ultimately led to failure, for majors are all about winning and not losing. Geoff Ogilvy, alone, supplied the correct answer.

Harrington's failure wasn't as spectacular as that of others. Of the catalogue of errors that manifested over the closing stretch, Mickelson's was far and away the most catastrophic as he played pinball with the corporate tents and trees on his finishing hole, a double-bogey six resulting in him finishing a shot adrift of Australian Ogilvy who had chipped-in for par on the 17th and made a par-saving up-and-down on the 18th, the scene of most misfortune for the other contenders.

The drama was unscripted, of a comic-tragedy nature played out by some of golf's greatest practitioners.

Mickelson pushed the self-destruct button on the 18th tee, at which stage he had a one-stroke lead, by driving left where his ball hit the roof of the hospitality tenting and rebounded onto trampled grass. His route to the green was blocked by trees, but he attempted to curl his approach and proceeded to hit a branch. He later confessed, "I can't believe I did that. I am such an idiot."

Montgomerie, too, finished his quest for a major with a double-bogey. In his case, it was simply poor execution and poor judgment. From the middle of the fairway, the Scot changed his mind on what club to use, opting for a seven iron instead of a six. He came up short, in thick rough. "I caught it heavy," he later revealed. Furyk was also playing his approach to the 18th green from the middle of the fairway, but pulled it into the left greenside bunker from where he splashed out to five feet and then missed the par putt.

For 15 holes, Harrington had played bogey-free golf.

Then, just like waiting for a bus, they all came together. He bogeyed the 16th, where his approach hit a tree and came up short of the green in thick rough; bogeyed the 17th when his approach finished through the green in more rough, and then bogeyed the 18th by three-putting from just off the green. The 18th was particularly costly to the Dubliner, who gave up four shots to the hole over the weekend. Just how costly is viewed from the fact that he finished alone in fifth, just two shots behind Ogilvy.

Harrington, who remains on in America to play in this week's Booz Allen Classic outside Washington, has at least moved into an automatic place in the Europe Ryder Cup table after equalling his previous best finish in a major. He has moved to 10th in the world points list and ninth in the European Points list, currently giving him the last (10th) automatic place.

The team won't be finalised until after the BMW International in Munich in August.

Of his near-miss at Winged Foot, Harrington - whose triple-bogey at the 18th in Saturday's third round came after opting to use a rescue club out of heavy rough - insisted that, even in hindsight, he had "no regrets. No, I definitely don't have any regrets. No. Absolutely not, no regrets at all about anything." The Dubliner was acutely aware that this US Open represented a great opportunity to claim a first major.

"Without a doubt," he said, adding: "Three pars to win the US Open, it can't be any easier than that. It sounds easy on paper, and the fact that I hit three great tee shots (on 16, 17 and 18) as well to set myself up (makes it tougher). But I was very uncomfortable with how I was hitting the ball and it caught up with me on the last couple of holes. You need to be very confident in those situations. I didn't feel I was on song yesterday afternoon (Saturday) and into today (Sunday) and it caught up with me. I knew I was there or thereabouts. I was pushing to do my best at the end and hopefully make birdies coming in. That's the nature of the game . . . it wasn't necessary (to make birdies) but who was to know that at the time?"

His aggressive strategy was emphasised by a three-putt bogey on the last, where he raced his first long putt some 15 feet by the hole. "I had good thoughts going into that putt, just like when I holed at Westchester last year (in winning the Barclays Classic)," said Harrington. "I had to give that one a go . . . things aren't quite happening for me at the end result but these are the sort of performances that I've got to be putting in where I am there or thereabouts. This golf course suited me no end. Of all the US Open golf courses I've ever come to, this one was definitely the easiest to my eye."

So, what does Harrington take away from Winged Foot? "I did a lot of things right the whole week, so that's very positive. I worked hard in that end of things, and I was very good mentally. If I can get as close as I did without (playing my best) is encouraging. I certainly wouldn't have thought that I had that many good breaks, and I didn't feel I was on top of my game, so to get that close to winning a US Open is a good sign. I'm looking forward to the next major, that's for sure."

That next major will be the British Open at Hoylake next month. You sense it can't come fast enough for the Irishman.

How they lost it on 18

Colin Montgomerie

Double bogey

Monty's double-bogey on the 18th came from nowhere. Standing in the middle of the fairway, he discussed with caddie Alastair McLean which club to use. He originally took out a six-iron, but figured the adrenalin would add a further 10 yards so switched back to a seven. The Scot finished short, in thick rough. He played his third to the green, then three-putted.

"I hit the wrong club for my second shot. We put ourselves into poor position after two shots, and then it was difficult from then on because that green is very fast."

Jim Furyk

Bogey

Furyk did what he had done most of the day, he found the fairway off the tee. That should have been the hard part. But the American then pulled his approach into the greenside bunker, from where he played a superb sand shot to five feet. He missed the putt, finishing a shot behind Ogilvy.

"I'm disappointed. I played my heart out and it didn't work."

Phil Mickelson

Double bogey

With a one-stroke lead on the tee, Mickelson smacked his driver, which betrayed him most of the day, way left where the ball came to a rest outside the ropes. It got worse. A tree blocked his sightline, inviting a 3-iron, 201-yard cut shot to the hole. Mickelson studied his options before over-cutting the supposed cut. The ball thumped the tree and the ball advanced little more than 25 yards, still in trampled rough.

Mickelson again went for the green, this time turning his shot too much and it finished in a fried-egg lie in the bunker. A bunker shot and two putts later, and Mickelson had lost out in a major for the first time since the British Open last year.

"I just can't believe that I did that. I am such an idiot. I just couldn't hit a fairway all day."

Padraig Harrington

Bogey

Chasing a birdie on the 18th hole, where he had suffered a triple-bogey seven on Saturday, Harrington hit a superb drive which left him an eight-iron approach to the green. Instead of finding the middle of the green as intended, he pulled it to the left edge. After an aggressive first putt ran 15 feet by the hole, he missed the par putt for a three-putt bogey.

"I felt no pressure at all. Because of what I have been working on, I felt very good. I felt not very good about my golf swing. I felt terrible about my golf swing, to be honest.

"At the end of the day, the guy who wins the US Open chips in on 17. That was just a phenomenal chip he hit at 18 (to save par). That's what the winner does."