Tournament Roundup: Irish Eyes are Smiling

What a finish at the Honda Classic, huh?

Now, I know that at least 50% of my readership doesn't watch golf (Hi Dad!), so statistically speaking, you probably didn't see it, so here's a brief rundown of how the final round went.

Ian Poulter started his final round at -7, a full three shots ahead of second place and that's as close as he got to winning. After two rinsing two balls on two tee shots in the space of two holes, Poulter quickly fell out of contention. He went on to birdie the two finishing holes, but finishing -5 is hardly the result Poulter was looking for after his first appearance in the final group in as long as anyone can remember.

Classic Poulter.

The best story here, outside of Harrington's first win in seven years, is Daniel Berger's final round. In his first full season on the PGA Tour, Berger shot consecutive 71's in the second and third round and started his final round 9 shots off the lead. At times trailing by as many as 11, Berger shot a final round 64 and held the lead in the clubhouse. With the final group seemingly floundering, he had Dan Hicks waxing poetic about the greatest comeback in PGA Tour history until Harrington bounced back from a double bogey on 17 with a birdie on the 18th to force a playoff.

I'm 90% sure this is him. Kid needs to work on his Google Image presence.

The playoff lasted only two holes, but what it lacked in length, it made up for in drama. The first hole was the par-5 18th, where Harrington made par and Berger narrowly missed his birdie attempt and chance at victory. The pair made their way to the final hole in the Bear Trap, a diabolical three hole stretch known to provide heartbreak and wet golf balls in equal measure at the best of times. Having felt the pressure put on by Berger on the 18th, Harrington teed off first and stuck his tee shot on the par-3 17th within four feet of the cup, giving himself a very good look at birdie. In response, Berger made quite the splash with his tee shot, slicing it into the water about three yards short of the green, and that's all she wrote.

We need more mustaches in sports.

Absolutely love seeing Paddy Harrington get back in the winner's circle. Notching his sixth career win on the PGA tour, the two-time Open champion's win is his first since he captured the PGA championship by two strokes in 2008. It's been a long time coming for Harrington, who has struggled in the intervening years between victories, but full credit to him, he made the shots he needed to make.

Harrington's win also gives me the opportunity to post two of my favorite golf videos of all time.

...and...

The man hits shots better blindfolded than I can on my best days, how can you not love that?

Moving ahead to next week, or this week because its Thursday and my blogs are becoming more delinquent by the week, I've been made aware of a theory that could help my predictions. When James Hahn won at Riviera, he was ranked 297th in the World Golf Rankings. When Harrington won at PGA National, HE was ranked 297th in the world. So who is ranked 297th in the world this week? Steve Webster. A two-time winner on the European Tour, he's never played on the PGA Tour. As far as I can tell, his only claim to fame is that he beat Tiger Woods as the low amateur in the 1995 Open Championship, but I trust the system, so that's my pick.

Your 2015 WGC Cadillac Championship winner.

Keep your head down.