One of the most iconic Open Championship performances in recent memory came back in 2009 when Tom Watson came agonisingly close to lifting the Claret Jug for a sixth time.
Stewart Cink acknowledged that he was probably the most unpopular person at Turnberry after the 2009 Open Championship. It was Cink who ended up in a playoff with Tom Watson after the 59-year-old had made a bogey on the final hole.
Watson had been tied for the lead at the halfway stage and was out on his own with 18 holes to play. Unfortunately, a 72 on Sunday meant that the five-time Open champion ended up in a playoff.
It appeared that Watson did not have the gear to go again however, with Cink winning the four-hole playoff by six shots. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most incredible major championship performances from anyone over the last few decades.
Pádraig Harrington compares his game with where Tom Watson’s was before the 2009 Open Championship
Pádraig Harrington is six years younger than Watson was when he nearly triumphed at Turnberry. But he does still have an opportunity to become the oldest major champion of all-time at The Open Championship this month.
Two of Harrington’s three majors came at this event. Meanwhile, he recently added a second senior major to his collection by winning the US Senior Open this past week.
Funnily enough, it was Stewart Cink who finished second to Harrington at Broadmoor. And speaking on Golf Channel, Harrington discussed the chances of emulating Watson’s performance 16 years ago.
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“I’m thrilled, it was a fantastic Open in 2019. The crowds came out. Clearly, they got everything they wanted with Shane winning – maybe Rory obviously as he’s even more local than Shane – but in terms of the island of Ireland, Shane winning was very special there. So fantastic venue, we’re very familiar with it, people love it. Can I go on and win? It doesn’t really matter whether I can or can’t, I’ve just got to believe I can and create my own reality. I think Tom Watson gives me hope, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.
“I think, if I was to compare myself to Tom Watson – and I played a little bit with Tom Watson around that time, I played a few tournaments with him – I probably am physically more capable in terms of I’m as long as these young guys. I don’t know if I quite have the mental fortitude. Tom Watson, I played with him, he was brilliant at that time, he hit every shot like there was no downside, just ripped every shot at the flag. It was incredibly impressive how he played at that time because he was giving up 30, 40 yards to the young guys, obviously not as bad on a links golf course. A bit like Bernhard Langer, if you go watch Bernhard Langer, often times I’m hitting a sand wedge into a hole he’s hitting a hybrid into. Tom Watson, the courses were big and long, but his ability to just hit the shot with no care and rip it at the flag and just get on with it was phenomenal. I’d love to have that ability. In some ways, physically I’m capable, but mentally, I need to get myself in the right zone.
“I’d love to sit down and chat with him. Actually, I should sit down and chat with him. I’d say that’s what Tom Watson was good at in the early 80s. He just ripped away at the flag and looked like he had no fear in him. And he definitely looked like that in 2009 and around that time, he looked like he was back in that zone.”
How Pádraig Harrington has played at The Open Championship since his most recent win in 2008
Harrington has played in The Open Championship 15 times since lifting the trophy for a second time in 2008. And unfortunately, the results have not been particularly impressive.
He has not registered a top 10 since 2008, while he has missed the cut on seven occasions.
One of those missed cuts did indeed come at Royal Portrush in 2019. However, Harrington has rediscovered that winning feeling on the Champions Tour in the last few years.
So if there is going to be any veteran who manages to put themselves in contention later this month, there is surely a good chance that it will indeed be Pádraig Harrington.