The Honda Classic Recap: Harrington Turns Back the Clock

For all of you gamers out there who think Tiger Woods will never win again, how many of you thought Padraig Harrington would ever win again?

Harrington defeated a man young enough to be his son in a playoff at the Honda Classic on Monday afternoon for his first win of consequence in six years, becoming the leader in the clubhouse for the feel-good golf story of the year. Ranked No. 297 in the world and playing on a sponsor exemption because he lost his tour card, the 43-year-old Harrington was the last man standing after a wild final-round roller coaster at rain-soaked PGA National.

Five players had a share of the lead in the final round of a tournament pushed back because of torrential rain in South Florida. Four of them -- Harrington, 21-year-old rookie Daniel Berger, defending champion Patrick Reed and Englishman Ian Poulter -- found the water on Monday.

The most disastrous result belonged to Poulter, the 54-hole leader who had a double- and triple-bogey on the back nine to miss the playoff by one stroke. His countryman, resurgent Paul Casey, was the fifth golfer atop the leaderboard on Monday.

Harrington, the three-time major champion whose last PGA title had been the 2008 PGA Championship, was four strokes down at the turn. But he registered four successive birdies on Nos. 11-14, then basically needed to par out to win as others fell by the wayside.

Standing on the tee at the 190-yard 17th, Harrington selected a 5-iron, with the pin tucked way to the left, water in front of it, sand behind it. From the moment Harrington swung, he knew it was trouble, the ball sailing so far right it found the water. He double-bogeyed, and now needed birdie to get into a playoff with young Berger, already done with a scintillating 6-under 64 to finish the tournament at 6-under.

If that blunder wasn't enough to make almost everyone think Harrington was toast, then his drive into a trap on the par-5 18th surely was. Going for the green was now impossible, so Harrington found himself on the putting surface in three, needing to hole a 15-footer to continue. Remarkably, he did.

Both Harrington and Berger parred the first playoff hole, 18, before the rookie blinked, himself rinsing his tee ball on 17 after Harrington's 5-iron this time nestled to three feet.

Harrington hadn't had so much as a top-10 in almost two years on the PGA Tour. He did win an Asian Tour event last December and previously in 2010, but those fields were barren in comparison to the world-class competition at the Honda. The Irishman had fallen to No. 371 in the world before winning the Indonesia Open two months ago, but that victory moved him to only No. 260. Comparatively, Monday's triumph saw him soar from No. 297 to No. 82, also securing him coveted spots in the Masters, The Players Championship and at least a couple of WGCs.

(Coincidentally, last week's winner, James Hahn, was also No. 297 in the world. Who's 297 in the world now, you ask? Why, it's England's Steve Webster. And we're pretty sure he's available in your league.)

MONDAY TAKEAWAY

Daniel Berger

The 21-year-old rookie out of Florida State found himself nine shots back entering the final round. His 6-under round was almost good enough. This hardly was his first foray onto a leaderboard, however. This was Berger's third top-10 in 11 starts, and he sits 15th in the point standings. If by some chance he's still available in your league, stop reading this and go get him (but please come back and read the rest afterward).

Ian Poulter

Ooh boy. Poulter got to 9-under to emerge with a three-stroke lead after 54 holes. But he found water no fewer than five times over the final 18 holes, twice on No. 14 for final-dagger triple-bogey 7. Making it all the more frustrating for Poulter, he birdied the final two holes to miss the playoff by a single stroke. Up eight spots to 28 in the world, Poulter is in the field for this week's WGC-Cadillac Championship. His last worldwide win was in a WGC, the 2012 HSBC Champions, and he also won the WGC-Match Play in 2010. Those are his lone PGA Tour victories.

Paul Casey

Casey was ranked No. 3 in the world back in 2009, before injuries and off-the-course matters derailed his game. Now, he looks back (maybe not No. 3 back, but back). A week after losing in a playoff at Riviera, the Englishman tied for third with Poulter and Scotland's Russell Knox. Casey is now up to No. 45 in the world and will be at Doral this week. At this point, a victory would not surprise.

Patrick Reed

The defending champion seemed poised to repeat, opening with twin 67s as he took advantage of being in the more favorable half of the draw as rain plagued the opening days of the tournament. On Monday, Reed stood at 7-under after a birdie on 14. That's when it all came apart for him. He found water at 15 for a double bogey, then bogeyed 16 and 17, done in by the famed Bear Trap. Reed tied for seventh and, no doubt, his confidence is unshaken heading to Doral. Your confidence in him should not be shaken, either.

Luke Donald

Finally, Donald flashed a sign of life, using three solid rounds to tie for seventh with Reed , Jeff Overton and Jim Herman. After some down years, the former world No. 1 reunited with his old swing coach late last year. Until now, the results have been poor, with a T41, T51 and three straight missed cuts preceding the Honda. Is the start of a rejuvenated Donald? Way too soon to tell, but he's also in the Cadillac Field.

Phil Mickelson

Continuing with old-friend week, Mickelson showed his best form since last year's PGA Championship. Unfortunately for him, he also showed The Other Side of Phil. After birdieing No. 3 on Sunday to get to 4-under in the final round, Mickelson finished with five bogeys and the rest pars to plummet from a top-5 standing to solo 17th. Such is life as a Mickelson owner. Do you feel lucky heading to Doral? We're sure Phil does.

Patrick Rodgers

Last year's top amateur out of Stanford turned pro but couldn't secure his card. Rodgers won on the Web.com Tour last month and has made the cut in his past three PGA Tour events. Surely, T37, T56 and now T44 at the Honda don't scream "PICK HIM UP," but a lot of top players couldn't negotiate the tough conditions at PGA National, and playing four rounds counts for something. Rodgers is worth keeping an eye on. Somewhat oddly, he's skipping this week's opposite-field event in Puerto Rico, where a win could've opened up all sorts of opportunities for him.

Chris Kirk

Kirk has gone from playing mediocre golf to missing cuts, now two in a row after a 71-74 at the Honda. He still sits a decent 48th in the point standings, but if you drafted him, you were expecting a whole lot more. Just don't expect it this week at the Cadillac.

Rory McIlroy

He's not Tiger Woods. He's not going to go entire seasons, or multiple seasons, without missing cuts. But McIlroy is still the top player in the world, and his performance in horrid weather should not worry his owners or give non-owners hope. He shot 73-74 to miss the cut by three shots playing in the short-strawed half of the draw.

Ernie Els

Els has played four PGA Tour events this season, and he's missed three cuts, including the Honda. Before shooting a too-late 69 on Friday, Els shot 77 in the first round. And that's on top of his 78-76 MC at Riviera. He's not in the field at Doral, and he's 200th in the FedEx standings. Els did finish a more-than-respectable 41st in points last season, but with over-45 golfers, you never know when the bottom will fall out once and for all.

Dustin Johnson

Coming off a T4 and a T2, Johnson shot 77-75 to not even come close to making the Honda cut. For a Johnson owner, of which I'm one, this was the best thing that could've happened. He had played three straight weeks after six months off and, including the upcoming WGC, five straight weeks. That's too much and too hard for anyone, much less someone just returning. Hopefully, this gave Johnson a little breather heading to a course he traditionally has played well on (T4 and T12 the last two years).