TURNBERRY, Scotland – It wasn’t exactly Camelot, but it was as close as golf gets, and on Sunday it ended. Padraig Harrington’s two-year reign as Open champion came to a quiet end just past noon on Scotland’s west coast.
“It’s been a great two years, but inevitably we knew it would end,” said Harrington, who closed with rounds of 69-74-76-73 to tie for 66th.
The twice defending Open champion said he planned to watch the rest of the day’s action before heading home to Ireland. As for how his family would deal with an Open Sunday without a trophy presentation, Harrington had a plan for that.
“I’m going sneak the replica (of the Claret Jug) in there and hopefully they won’t notice,” he smiled.
