Should Anyone Be Complaining?

The Open had its usual cast of contenders on Sunday in Birkdale. By that, though, I don't mean the same people. I mean, the same kinds of people. There are always past champions lurking around (and winning). The canary yellow always shows at two or three names that make you refer to your program unless you watch a lot of Euro Tour golf. There are a few Tour tested players looking to make their big major splash. Then, there is some up and comer who uses this as a learning experience for a future triumph.

The Open had all of those things in Paddy Harrington, Greg Norman, KJ Choi, Jim Furyk, Ernie Els (who finished 7th, by the way), and Chris Woods. Hell, Ian Poulter made an appearance.

This all happened despite really impossible conditions. If they weren't holding the Open this weekend, no one would be playing Birkdale on their own. The course was right on the edge of unplayable because of the windy conditions making shotmaking extreme and drying out the greens almost over the edge. Still, somehow the course held on and the champion was more than deserving.

So what if the winning score was +3? If you take the suggestion that par was really closer to 74 than 70, then Paddy Harrington played -13 golf. I could believe that.