Late Rally Hands PGA Title to Padraig Harrington
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Padraig Harrington rallied from three shots behind today to win the PGA Championship, closing with a 4-under 66 at Oakland Hills to become only the fourth player to win the British Open and PGA in the same year.
If the winner was familiar, so was the finish.
Harrington shot a 32 on the back nine, just as he did at Royal Birkdale last month, and he came up with three big putts down the stretch. He made a 12-foot par on the 16th to catch Sergio Garcia, took the lead with an 8-foot birdie on the par-3 17th, then closed out the Spaniard with an 18-foot par for the victory.
The Irishman ended Europe’s 78-year drought in the PGA Championship, and he joined Tiger Woods, Nick Price and Walter Hagen as the only players to win the final two majors in the same year.
