Sunday, July 22, 2007

Crazy finish at Carnoustie

I'm still catching my breath. Wow, where to begin?

I'll get right to the drama. Unknown Argentinian Andres Romero made a dramatic charge into the lead, by rolling in 10 birdies up to the 16th hole. The happy-go-lucky Romero then hit a bad tee shot on 17 and tried to hit a 2-iron from the rough. Bad move. The ball lined into the burn and ricocheted OB to the right. Romero doubled the hole, bogeyed 18 to finish at -6. Romero had no pars on the back 9.

Then Paddy Harrington vaulted into the lead, with 4 birdies and an amazing eagle on 14 to go 9-under. Paddy parred the next 3 holes and stood on 18 as the sole leader. Sergio was 1 back at -8. Paddy then flared a wounded drive to the right--borrowing the shot out of Phil Mickelson's bag--that skated across the bridge, 3/4 of the way, but then veered into the burn. Paddy dropped and then chunked his 5-iron back into the burn. After a nice pitch, Paddy holed a 5-footer for double bogey to fall back to -7.

Sergio hit a 2-iron off the tee on 18, leaving him over 250 yards from the green. His approach went into the bunker. He needed an up and down to win his first major. Bunker shot was good, but left him about 12 feet out. Good putt but ball doesn't break back and catches only the lip. Sergio looks dejected.

4-hole playoff.

1st hole: Paddy birdies (-1), Sergio bogeys (+1).

16th hole: Paddy misses green. Sergio hits pin with 3-iron, but no hole in one. Paddy up and down for par (-1). Sergio 2 putts for par (+1).

17th hole: Paddy stuffs his approach shot to 8 feet. Sergio's approach, about 20 feet. Both 2 putt.

18th hole: Paddy hits hybrid off tee. Lays up. Sergio blasts drive, gets lucky lie in rough; hits 6-iron to 25 feet. Paddy pulls 100 yard wedge to left green, outside of Sergio's putt. Paddy lags his putt, but ball skates by 3 feet. Sergio's putt for birdie has too much speed and hits edge of the hole, but skates by 5 feet. Sergio saves par. Paddy hits his putt in to win. Congrats, Paddy!

17 Comments:

At 12:39 PM, Blogger lcmslutheran said...

What in the hell is going on with US golf? Stricker chokes, "Tiger" is turning into pussycat and then there are a bunch of also-rans. I think I'll skip the Rider cup when it's played.

 
At 12:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Right, US golfers are pretty crap. Especially in winning what? 90% of the majors of the last 8 years. Come on, there is a lot of great golfers somewhere else, too. It's not like US golfers are taking a dive every Major or WGC event. This is the first time since the last Open Championship at Carnoustie that a Euro wins a major...

 
At 12:52 PM, Blogger Tom Blogical said...

Garcia is toast. The putt on 18 took all the wind out of his sails, so he's got all the pressure on him now. Harrington got a reprieve and he's going to take advantage.

 
At 1:19 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

you can look it up -- I posted on the thread Thursday that Sergio would choke "and it will be beautiful to watch."

 
At 1:42 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

sergio is a pussy , "paddy" is a fag nickname, and theyre both dorks, but glad sergio lost, hes the worst of the two

 
At 1:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sergio is definitely the worse of the two. Spitting in the cup, always whining, etc.

Not as great as watching Phil collapse, but that was really quite beautiful!

 
At 2:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Too bad for Ernie Els and Romero, especially for Ernie who misses it again because of some weak putts and short irons play.

 
At 3:01 PM, Blogger Daryl said...

I'm no Sergio fan, but I thought he played solid today. He struck the ball well and rolled some great putts that just slid by. I don't consider it a choke. If he's figured out his putting, look out. People expected too much from him 5 years ago. Only Tiger and Jack came out of the gates that young at the highest level and stayed there. Most of the other greats, Jones and Hogan especially, duffed around as long as Sergio has before finally breaking through. What I mean is, of all the golfers out there, this guy still has a chance to have a huge career, say 25 wins and 7 or 8 majors. He's only 27.

 
At 3:30 PM, Blogger Linus said...

Heh. Yeah, Carnoustie was definitely playing too easy. I mean, it basically devolved into a "who-can-choke-the-least" bit of theater. I loved it, by the way. I've been a Harrington fan for a while (he's Irish, you know), but always thought he'd never get it done due to his propensity for "fading" (it's the polite term). I'm glad to see that he finally pulled it off. I bet that Romero lad is kicking himself for weeks over his lip-out at 18, which knocked him out of the playoff (I mean, after he finishes kicking himself for picking a 2-iron (!) earlier).

I predict Sergio will win two (2) majors in his life, an Open Championship and a PGA. That's it. And he'll continue to dominate the crap out of the Americans at future Ryder Cups.

 
At 3:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I guess Nick Faldo's comment that nice guys come second and that too man British and European golfers were nice guys no longer holds water. British and European golfers are still nice guys, but Yanks who have got alot of milage about their owning the majors is now a moot point.

 
At 4:26 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

A moot point? One major in the last, what, 36?

 
At 4:53 PM, Blogger Daryl said...

What Europeans? They're all Americans. All the European born players live in Florida or Arizona and play primarily on the PGA Tour. Anybody who's a permanent member of the of the European Tour is a second class golfer. The Ryder Cup has about as much meaning as the Tavistock Cup in Orlando. Neighbors playing each other.

 
At 6:21 PM, Blogger r.e.c. said...

It's Tiger against the field at almost every major. If Tiger is not on--anybody can win--with the exception of Phil for that eight month stretch--nobody is really close to Tiger and The Open this year proved what is wrong with golf now. There's no one out there that can play his best when it counts. This Open was the most disappointing Major I've seen in almost 20 years--to have the guy that completely choked on the 18th--choked much worse than Van de Velde in '99--Van de Velde got a bad break in absolutely horrible playing conditions--but to have Harrington win after going in the water TWICE! in almost prestine weather is amazing. When Jack was in his prime the players were not as good as they are today (not even Jack)--their swings had more flaws and they couldn't chip and flop it as well or bomb it etc..but Trevino, Player, watson etal...would have made the adjustment with today's technology and would not be afraid of finishing with determination--and actually raising their level of play as the going got tougher. I honestly don't think I'm exhaggerating the point when I say that only Tiger knows how to finish a tournament--and even he has to learn to win from behind--which he amazingly has never done. Additionally, it looks like Tiger will end up with maybe 15 to 20 majors when it's all said and done--and 50 other players will end up with one or two--I sure wish Sergio would have pulled it off because he has the talent to do it--just not the nerve.

 
At 8:20 PM, Blogger Daryl said...

Good comments r.e.c. I agree with alot of what you say. I think it's too early to judge Sergio though. Sure, so far he's weak, but it normal in golf to take time to develop. I was impressed by his putting this week. I thought he put two great rolls on the ball on 17 and 18 in the playoff - even the one on 18 in regulation was a good putt. In my mind, he's the guy that really has a chance to separate himself from the pack over the next ten years. We will see.

 
At 9:08 PM, Blogger r.e.c. said...

Daryl--you're probably right on Sergio. You know, in many ways--if anyone DESERVED to win it was him--but that is how this game is. What I've noticed from Tiger is that through his mental toughness he has been able to change fate--to take charge of his game against the odds--I mean to win every time he's led a major off the tee on a Sunday is unbelievable--Sergio should have beat him at that memorable PGA--Bob May was, IMO, destined to win the PGA too--and Tiger just wrestled it from him--if Sergio would have won the PGA he would probably have two or three more majors by now. I hope this Open did not destroy him--I felt so bad for him--I was even angry!--but I didn't realize how much it affected him until the press conference when he hinted that he's playing against more than just the field--he's basically saying he's cursed. Funny what this game can do to one's soul--Sergio is among the most blessed players to have ever struck a golf ball--but he feels cursed. What he needs is to feel what it's like to win one of these. BTW, even though I was dissapointed with this Open--it was still so much fun watching--I can't wait for the PGA.

 
At 3:32 PM, Blogger Daryl said...

You're right about Tiger. He's a rare athlete that seems to have an "on" switch. The only thing I've seen like it is in basketball - Bird, Jordan and Magic. Maybe some pitchers in baseball.

 
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