Padraig Harrington shot a 4-under 67 to beat Ryder Cup teammate Sergio Garcia in a four hole playoff. Garcia started very similar to last year. He got off to a good start with two pars and a birdie, and then he began to leak oil. With bogeys on 5, 7, and 8, Garcia brought everyone right back into the mix. Conversely, Paddy Harrington played extremely well all day with four birdies and an eagle through 17 holes. And then came 18.

Harrington pushed his tee shot right and it headed straight for the burn. Just for a little drama, the ball danced its way down a bridge briefly before hopping down in to the water. In the water in one, dropping two, hitting three. Harrington then faced a long carry over the burn a second time, and seemed to catch a chunky 5-iron. The ball again took its time getting there, but eventually ended up back in the water as the burn crossed back across the fairway. In the water in three, dropping four, hitting five. From there, Paddy worked a little short iron magic as he stuffed his approach just five feet from the hole. With the possibility of a play-off on the line, Harrington drained his putt for double bogey.

"That was probably the most pressure-filled putt I had of the day," said Paddy. "If I missed it, it was the end of it. And to hole it was a great boost to me. That was a moment that I thought, ‘Now maybe things are going to go my way."’

Having thrown up on himself on the final hole with a double, all Harrington could do was to watch Garcia play 18 only needing a par to secure his first Major victory.

Sergio Garcia played it safe off of the tee with an iron, leaving himself approximately 210 to carry the burn and 240 to the pin. After waiting approximately 5 minutes for the green to clear, Garcia slightly pulled his 3-iron into the bunker guarding the front left of the green. From there, he failed to get up and down by missing his 10 footer for par. Game on.

The four hole playoff consisted of holes 1, 16, 17, and 18. On the first hole, Harrington was able to convert a short putt for a birdie. Meanwhile, Garcia dumped his approach in the bunker and failed to get up and down to go down two strokes through one hole. It was obviously not Sergio’s day as evidenced on the 16th hole. His three iron approach on the 248 yard par three was stiffed at the pin. It hopped twice, and then hit the flag stick and chased to the back of the green.

"But I don’t know how I managed to do these things. It seems to me like every time I get in this kind of position I have no room for error. I need to miss one shot," said Sergio, "and I rarely get many good breaks."

Following the round, Harrington provided a very candid glimpse of what might have been if he didn’t win.

"Now, if Sergio parred the last and I did lose, I think I would have struggled to come back out and be a competitive golfer," Harrington said. "It meant that much to me. But I never let it sink into me that I had just thrown away the Open championship."

Luckily for Paddy, he didn’t throw it away, he just made for a more exciting finish at Carnoustie and has lept into sixth place in the world rankings.

""My goal was always to win more than one major. If I ever crossed that threshold to win one, I wouldn’t feel like that was the end of my road. It was always very important for me to have … now that I’ve won one, I’ll try to win another, rather than feeling that this was the pinnacle."

"I know it was only a short putt, but the emotions of it," Harrington said. "I couldn’t believe it as it was rolling in from right in the middle of the hole, and I’m thinking, ‘The Open champion.’ A huge amount of it was genuine shock."

Finishing third was Argentinian Andres Romero, whose back nine was so rollercoaster-like, that he actually didn’t record a par through his final 11 holes. Seven birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys led him to a 67 and his best finish in just his third major. Ernie Els showed that he might be back in good form with a tie at -5. He tied with Richard Green who shot the low round of the day, a 64.

In the end, it was Garcia who again was unable to convert on an elusive first Major victory.

 Paddy Harrington admitted that losing never crossed his mind.

"The one thing, I never, ever had it in my head is that I’d lost," Harrington said. "Now, if Sergio parred the last and I did lose, I think I would have struggled to come back out and be a competitive golfer. It meant that much to me. …"

Luckily, Harrington was able to convert in the playoff and will forever be known as an Open Champion. The win vaults him into sixth in the world rankings, but he contends this is just the beginning.

""My goal was always to win more than one major. If I ever crossed that threshold to win one, I wouldn’t feel like that was the end of my road. It was always very important for me to have … now that I’ve won one, I’ll try to win another, rather than feeling that this was the pinnacle."