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Harrington:holds on to the Claret Jug

he managed to raise his level and produce a back nine that I believe will be remembered as the one of the best ever at the The Open Championship by any champion

Mark Roe
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Padraig Harrington produced a truly legendary performance this week at The Open and you only have to look at the record books to put it into perspective.

His win at Royal Birkdale not only took him into an elite group of players that have won more than one major, but he also became the first European to successfully defend the Claret Jug in over a century.

All the build-up was dominated by the news that he might not be able to play because of a wrist injury and it wasn't until early Thursday morning when his caddie gave the media the thumbs up that it was confirmed he was going to take part.

Nobody at that point expected him to go on and successfully defend his title, but whoever was advising him on the physiological side of things did a very good job because they got him fit and ready to play and there were no signs of discomfort once he teed off.

His final round started with a scrappy front nine, but he managed to raise his level and produce a back nine that I believe will be remembered as the one of the best ever at the The Open Championship by any champion, having played the closing stretch between the 13th and 18th in four under par... truly unbelievable.

The guy feeling hardest done by will be Ian Poulter because when he holed his putt at the 18th to finish on seven over, pretty much everyone thought he was going to win his first major.

Pressure

Ultimately though it was Padraig's day and I think psychologically going into The Open with that injury probably really helped him as it would have taken a lot of the pressure away. He seemed to go out there on the opening morning with the attitude of 'I'm just happy to be here defending my title', which would have helped him.

His preparation was also once again supreme. He opted to go to the Irish PGA - having not picked a title since last years Open victory - and won there, which would have given him a lot of confidence.

In winning his second major Padraig has of course also secured his Ryder Cup place for September which will take a lot of pressure off him.

But it will also take a lot of pressure off Nick Faldo as well because he will want Padraig Harrington in his Ryder Cup team and would have been thinking about using one of his wild card picks on him.

His victory on Sunday has effectively freed up one of the picks and in essence it's probably hugely positive for Colin Montgomerie as well because Monty doesn't seem to be firing at the moment and it doesn't look like he is going to play himself on to the team easily.

Fairytale

Of course Padraig's superb performance was not the only talking point of the weekend and Greg Norman's third place finish really was the stuff of fairytales.

He credited his performance to the fact that he is now settled in his life and that he has found his soul mate in Chris Evert and of course when you are happy in your heart that can create hugely positive things.

At 53 years of age he only plays four or five competitive tournaments a year and the rest of his time is spent building his business empire, which is why, even though he did not win it, I regard his performance as one of the most remarkable ever at the Open.

Kids

The other standout display came from the 20-year-old Chris Wood, who won the silver medal as the leading amateur. In truth it was more than just a stand out display because it's one thing to make the cut at a major, but then to go on and be in contention during your final round at the Open as an amateur is just astonishing.

The way he played over those four days was also highlighted the fact that the kids these days are ready to play and compete so much younger these days.

Mentally they are so much stronger than in the past and they actually come out with the belief that they can produce these kinds of performances, which is incredible.

This week all eyes will turn to the Russian Open and although the field isn't the strongest after the Open Championship it should provide the perfect opportunity for someone with the talents of Ross McGowan to come through and maybe record his first win.