Two-part blog here, to mark my return from real life’s intrusions. First, did you see that Ryo Ishikawa fired a 7-bird, 1-boge final round in Japan to win the Munsingwear? Ishikawa is, like, 18, dude. He joins 20-year old Pablo Martin (Estoril Open on European Tour) as the second amateur of 2007 to defeat the pros in a principal tour event. We know that Phil won in 92, and that Verplank beat them all in 85, but that’s it in my golfing lifetime. Doesn’t happen that often…kind of like two perfect games in a two-month span.

How did Padraig Harrington summon the WHATEVER to hold off the sinister Bradley Dredge (of the Dredge Report?) to win his home Open championship? Just ask Mike Weir (runner-up, Canadian Open, 2004) how hard it is to do, and ask Vijay Singh (winner that year) how much it sucks to be the guy to beat the homecountry guy!!! Harrington was up two with two to play, then went bogey to Dredge’s birdie on 17, and it looked like a typical Harrington poop-out (since Furyk was nowhere in sight to poop out even more!) Paddy found the will and the way, and won the playoff. Now, before you say anything, the US Open doesn’t count, because the odds are too damned high that an American will win it.

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