After several weather delays, postponed tee times, a Monday finish, and two holes of sudden death, a winner has finally emerged; Irishman Padraig Harrington. Both him and PGA Tour newcomer Daniel Berger were tied at 6 under after 72 holes and had to replay the 18th and 17th; the former saw Berger place his tee shot in the water and a solid par from Harrington. The two finish with a one shot lead over Paul Casey, Russell Knox, and Ian Poulter, who was the 54 hole leader, but shot a 74 on Monday which included several balls landing in the water. The cut was set at +4.
For Padraig, this win was huge. This is the 43-year old's first PGA tour win since his win of the 2008 PGA Tour Championship; almost 2,400 days! To put things in perspective, Padraig's last three wins were the 2007, 2008 British Open and the 2008 PGA Championship. 2008 was the pinnacle of the Irishman's career and after winning back to back majors and the same major in consecutive years, we all expected him to keep on winning.
Unfortunately this didn't happen. A few swing changes and a case of the yips saw his game fall dramatically, as well as his earnings. At his lowest, he was ranked 353rd on the World Golf Rankings (late 2014) and things weren't looking good for him. But with some perseverance and hard work, he managed to pull of the win this week, which changes everything for him now. He doesn't have to rely on sponsor exemptions for a few years, gets to play in this year's Masters, and is currently ranked 82nd on the rankings now.
With some similar perseverance, Daniel Berger was en-route to making a some history. The 2014 Web.com Tour graduate started his final round nine shots behind the leader, but shot an excellent 64 to get himself into the playoff. If he won the playoff, it would have been one of the biggest comebacks in PGA Tour history. This is Berger's 4th top-10 finish this season; very impressive!
Probably just as big a story was that of Ian Poulter's meltdown during his final round. Poulter lead by three shots going into his final round. On a few holes, he shanked a few balls into the water, which resulted in a bogey, two double bogeys, and a very bad triple (which was on the verge of a +4 if it wasn't for a good putt by Ian). However, two late birdies were not enough to put him in the playoff, as he ended up one shot short of it, shooting a 74 on the day.
Finally, here is how our picks finished the tournament:
1) Rory McIlroy: CUT
2) Dustin Johnson: CUT
3) Graeme McDowell: CUT
Wow, a very bad week for my picks all of which who had pretty bad rounds in tough weather conditions. That's too bad, better luck next week!
And that wraps up a hectic week! The Honda Classic is a tournament that will never be dull; there will always be several story-lines and some exciting golf, as we saw this week. Stay tuned for coverage of the WGC Cadillac Championship from Doral, Florida.
-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews
Padraig Harrington Wins the 2015 Honda Classic
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