Padraig Harrington hears no evil from U.S. Open fans
Photos
Bethpage Black
Tiger Woods
Phil Mickelson
When Padraig Harrington chunked his pitch to the eighth green and left it in the rough yesterday, it sure sounded as if a few spectators gave him the exact cheer that a Red Sox player usually gets in New York: "Boooooo."
Harrington, though, did not fire back. Even after he was safely at the clubhouse after his round with Tiger Woods and Angel Cabrera, when it came to any contretemps with the New York crowd, Harrington didn't say boo.
"I wasn't booed on the eighth green. I don't remember. It didn't happen," he said.
When it was pointed out that the U.S. Open telecast seemed to capture some booing, Harrington would not take the bait. "If there was, I have no reaction. I didn't notice it, anyway," he said.
The Irishman, winner of two majors last year and former winner at Westchester, had said he loves playing in New York because of the raucous fans. He did not change that stance Saturday after missing the cut. "The crowds were really good. A lot of support," he said. "It would be nice if I had played a bit better and created a bit more [cheering], but it was good. As I've said before, it's always great to play with a bit more noise, a bit more excitement."
FARREN WON'T
BLAME RAIN
The atmosphere was much better than the weather, as far as local pro Sean Farren was concerned. The weather wasn't so bad, either.
Farren, 39, the head pro at The Creek Club in Locust Valley, shot 75 in his second round to finish 15 over par. He was in the unlucky half of the field that had to play in all the rain and had much higher scores, yet he said it never was that bad. "It wasn't like I missed the cut by a shot or two," he said. "There were a lot of shots out there that I let get away."
Aside from the stay being so short, his first Open was worth the effort he made in trying to qualify just about every year since he was a teenager. "Certainly, all the best players in the world are here and I saw every one of them,'' he said. "They were everywhere you turned. To be a part of that was pretty special. I'll always have this to look back on."
THE BACK NINE
Nine Nicest Guys from the Pro Tours at this Open:
1. Kenny Perry (Class act, win or lose).
2. Eduardo Romero (A prince at 53 no matter what tour he's playing on).
3. Billy Mayfair (Also the only guy to have beaten Tiger Woods in a tour playoff).
4. Rocco Mediate (You knew that already).
5. Peter Hanson (Deserved to make the hole-in-one that put him in the Open).
6. Steve Stricker (Two-time comeback player of the year never needs a personality comeback).
7. Padraig Harrington (A major mensch before he won three majors).
8. Ross Fisher (Folks on the European Tour rave about the Englishman's character).
9. Stewart Cink (Polite even when folks wear him out asking about Twitter).
BIRDIES AND BOGEYS
Birdie: Sean O'Hair has a friend carrying a beeper in case his wife calls to say she is in labor.
Bogey: Andrew Svoboda, an alternate at Purchase who made it in as a replacement, missed the cut at 14 over.
Birdie: Jon Silverberg of the Long Island Golf Association to the guest of honor at the Dan Jenkins tribute: "I've been a fan of yours since my two favorite magazines were Sports Illustrated and Mad."
Bogey: Don't wear your good shoes to the Open.
