Harrington hangs tough

GOLF: With a sniper's instinct, and like a predator waiting to inflict the kill, Padraig Harrington knew that the time had come.

In head-to-head combat with Eduardo Romero, and using a putter that had been cold for much of a glorious autumnal day, the Dubliner rolled in a testing, double-breaking eight foot birdie putt on the second hole of sudden-death to win the Dunhill Links Championship over the Old Course at St Andrews yesterday, ending a play-off streak that had always cast him as the fall guy.

The win, the fifth of Harrington's European Tour career, but the biggest in terms of financial gain, bulged his bank balance by another €818,662 and lifted him up to third place in the Order of Merit. And, coming a week after his part in Europe's Ryder Cup win, it completed "the best two weeks of my golfing life," he said.

Indeed, there was a double reason to celebrate. In partnership with his amateur partner J P McManus, the duo took the team prize as well, running away from the field in much the same way as champion hurdler Istabraq - owned by McManus - had done in many a big race. "That was nerve wracking, and I know I am never going to be a golf professional," remarked McManus, "but this is one for the rocking chair." Quite rightly, the memory will live for a long time.

For Harrington, however, it was a time for redemption. In three previous play-offs, he had lost: to Sergio Garcia in the 1999 German Masters; to Roger Chapman in the 2000 Brazil Open, and to Vijay Singh in last year's Malaysian Open. Ironically, Singh, who finished on 17-under-par, was one of those loitering around the recorder's hut as Harrington and Romero played the last, waiting for any slip-up from the pair in the final match. There were to be no mistakes. Rather, Harrington, playing the role of aggressor, birdied the 18th hole to force a play-off with Romero, who had held a one-stroke advantage going to the last hole.

All day, Harrington and Romero had shadow-boxed each other. The pendulum swung first one way, and then the other. Neither, though, could get a stranglehold. Others threatened to gatecrash their duel. Colin Montgomerie had six birdies in a row - from the seventh to the 12th - but bogeyed the last on his way to a course record-equalling 63, for 17-under-par. He was joined on that mark by Singh and by Sandy Lyle, whose finish was sufficiently high to ensure his card for next season.

In the end, all three came up short of the required number. For much of the homeward run, Harrington and Romero were locked together. Until the 15th, that is. It was there that Harrington three-putted - "a really silly mistake," he later admitted - to hand the initiative to the veteran Argentinian player, who had been forced to have a pain-killing injection before the round to ease a back injury, a legacy from the AmEx championship three weeks ago when his back locked while playing a practice round.

And, yet, Harrington was up to the task ahead. "I still felt positive that I could win. You know, 16, 17 and 18 are great holes if you're a shot behind, and they're terrible holes if you're a shot ahead. If you play them well, you can make a birdie or two," said Harrington. No birdie came at the 16th or 17th, however, and the defining moment came on the 18th, a par four of 357 yards. "My back was to the wall on that one," said Harrington. Playing cute off the tee, the Irishman took a three-wood and left himself a full wedge into the green. The ball came to rest 18 feet from the flag, but didn't spin back.

"I got a good read on the putt, and was very positive. A lot of people might have felt it might break down towards the Valley of Sin but I actually felt it was going to slide a little to the right," he recalled. The pace was perfect, and the birdie putt dropped. Romero still had a birdie putt, from 10 feet, to win, but the putt never threatened the hole. "It was a terrible putt, I pushed it," said Romero.

The first hole of sudden-death was halved in pars and, so, the pair moved on to the second, a par four of 413 yards. Again, Harrington used three-wood off the tee, while Romero went with driver. Harrington's wedge approach finished eight feet from the hole. "When I heard the people clapping, I thought it was really close, but it got a hell of a lot longer as I walked up to it," he said. Romero hit his approach to four feet.

Again, Harrington was positive with his putt. "There was no second guessing, no second chance with those putts. It was either hole them or not," he remarked. After Harrington sank his putt, Romero missed his shorter one; and that was that. Harrington had taken his first title of the season - after seven previous top-10 finishes - and became the third Irish winner on tour this season, joining Darren Clarke (English Open) and Graeme McDowell (Scandinavian Masters).

After the high of the Ryder Cup win, Harrington's preparations were not as intense this week as in a regular tournament week; and the relaxed approach worked wonders. "I didn't go to the range, didn't go to the putting or chipping green, and normally I am so obsessive about practising," he said.

The win has propelled Harrington right into the thick of the Order of Merit race, putting him hot on the heels of Retief Goosen and Ernie Els. "I will have to think strongly about my end of season schedule. I knew I needed to win one of the big events in order to have a chance. I can't say I was putting myself under pressure to win the Order of Merit, but I was putting myself under pressure to win the event and because of that I now have a chance to win the Order of Merit," he insisted. The last Irish player to do that was Ronan Rafferty in 1989.

Harrington will now take a week's break before resuming play in next week's world matchplay at Wentworth. Darren Clarke, meanwhile, intends to take three and possibly four weeks away from the circuit while Paul McGinley, although entered for this week's Lancome Trophy, is also considering his schedule. "It was always going to be difficult coming after the Belfry and I just felt flat this week," said McGinley.

For Harrington - and McManus - it was a win to savour at the home of golf. "I think I could have finished last and enjoyed the best two weeks of my life, last week's Ryder Cup was so good," said Harrington. Victory, though, makes it all the sweeter.

"I really badly wanted to win. I wanted it so much. It means a lot to me to come through," he said.