CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Anywhere else, Padraig Harrington might have walked off the 18th green knowing his two shots that found the bottom of Barry Burn for double bogey had cost him the British Open.

Not at Carnoustie, where calamity can strike at any second and did during Sunday’s final round.

One shot crashed off the stone wall of the burn and ricocheted 50 yards across the wrong fairway and out-of-bounds. Another bounced across a tiny bridge until it plunged over the side on the last hop. Still another looked like a hole-in-one until it smacked the base of the pin and caromed 18 feet away.

The final hour was golf theater at its best.

In a nail-biter that stirred memories of Jean Van de Velde’s famous collapse in 1999, Harrington delivered the fitting finish to a day that kept everyone guessing. He took a two-shot lead to the final hole of a playoff, and still had to sweat out a 3-foot bogey putt to beat Sergio Garcia.

“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.”

It was equally shocking to Garcia.

He was poised to capture his first major championship until he blew a three-shot lead in the final round. Harrington gave him one more chance with that double bogey on the 18th hole in regulation. Needing a par to win, Garcia hit into a bunker and missed a 10-foot par putt.

“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.”

He became the first Irishman in 60 years with his name on the claret jug, and Harrington ended Europe’s eight-year drought in the majors. The victory moved him up to No. 6 in the world, part of the elite.

All because of a double bogey on the 72nd hole.

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Sergio Garcia is 18 holes away from completing a dream return to Carnoustie - scene of his biggest golfing nightmare eight years ago.

Not even the lowest round ever in an Open at the Scottish links, or being clearly troubled when he injured someone with a wayward shot just as Tiger Woods had done earlier in the day, could knock the 27-year-old Spaniard off course.

American Steve Stricker was the player to post a marvellous seven under par 64, one off the lowest round in any major, but he did it from seven strokes back at halfway.

And Garcia was in no mood to lose the grip he had established with his opening 65 on Thursday.

His attempt to become the first European to win a major since Paul Lawrie on the same course in 1999 continued with a three under 68 and so Garcia goes into the last day nine under and three ahead of Stricker.

Woods, who came with high hopes of becoming the first player since Peter Thomson in 1956 to record a hat-trick of Claret Jugs, is eight adrift and “only” joint 15th after a 69.

Considering he has not had to come fr even one behind on the final day for any of his 12 majors it looks a task beyond even the world number one.

Garcia, relieved that the predicted bad weather did not arrive until right at the end, said: “It’s been a wonderful experience and I hope I can play well enough to finish the winner tomorrow.”

On the incident at the 17th involving a scoreboard operator he commented: “You never want that to happen. When you see the person lying down it’s not a good feeling, but fortunately I was able to shake his hand and he said ‘I’m fine’.

“He was a little shaken up, but I managed to save a great four.”

Among those between Woods and Garcia are Ryder Cup partners Paul McGinley and Padraig Harrington and England’s Paul Broadhurst, a born-again golfer if ever there was one.

But in joint third place on three under they - like Ernie Els, Korean KJ Choi and Americans Chris DiMarco and Stewart Cink - have a massive six shots to make up.

Every one of them will wake up hoping for something akin to 1999 when Lawrie, retrieved a 10-shot deficit, three of them when Jean Van de Velde triple-bogeyed the last when three clear.

There is one thing about Carnoustie and it is that it is never over until it is over. But surely there will be no repeat of that.

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CARNOUSTIE, Scotland.

The chip-in at the 2005 Masters that somehow went in. The 4-iron holed out from the fairway at Hoylake a year ago. And now, Tiger Woods has another improbable shot for his majors collection.

Woods sank a 90-foot birdie putt Thursday at damp, chilly Carnoustie on his way to a 2-under-par 69, putting himself solidly in contention for his third straight British Open championship.

Paul McGinley of Ireland was the clubhouse leader with a 67, one stroke ahead of Michael Campbell, U.S. Open champ Angel Cabrera and obscure Austrian Markus Brier. Then came Woods, just two shots back.

For those still on the course, Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy were creating the biggest stir. The Spaniard, perhaps the best player never to win a major, was at 6 under through 14 holes. McIlroy, an 18-year-old amateur from Northern Ireland who looks even younger, was 3 under in a bogey-free round with two holes to play.

Then there’s John Daly, whose 1995 Open victory is one of the highlights of his troubled career. He briefly surged to the top of the leaderboard at 5 under by holing out a short wedge for eagle at No. 11.

That was followed by a stretch that epitomized his up-and-down life: double-bogey, par, triple-bogey, bogey, bogey, par, bogey. In the space of seven holes, he went from the top spot to nowhere to be found on the leaderboard, settling for a 74.

Woods, of course, is much more steady.

At the par-3 16th, his tee shot barely made the front of the green. He was only worried about avoiding a bogey when he sent the ball rolling toward the cup. It kept going and going and going, finally dropping in.

Woods threw both arms in the air, then shrugged his shoulders as he looked toward caddie Steve Williams.

“I was just trying to get it up there close,” Woods said. “I wanted to get it up where I would have an easy second putt. Lo and behold, it falls in.”

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Gary Player claims he “knows for a fact” that there are players in today’s game taking drugs.

There are plans for dope testing to be introduced on tours around the world next season and South African great Player, in Carnoustie this week to see the Open Championship’s return to the course on which he won in 1968, made it clear he thinks it cannot come soon enough.

Asked if he would be surprised by any positive findings the 71-year-old commented: “No, it would not surprise me because I know - I know for a fact - that there are golfers, whether it’s HGH (human growth hormone), creatine or steroids, that are doing it.

“And the greatest thing that the R&A (Royal and Ancient Club, organisers of the Open and golf’s ruling body outside of America and Mexico), the USGA (United States Golf Association) and the PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association) can do is have tests at random.”

Ryder Cup star Chris DiMarco has called for golf’s authorities to bring in drug testing as soon as possible to root out the cheats.

“Golf is a game of integrity and if they are doing drugs they are cheating,” said the 38-year-old.

“Cheating is the wrong way to do it. I’m all for drug testing - let’s go ahead and do it.

“If everyone has nothing to hide let’s do it. I don’t know anyone that does [drugs] and I don’t know anyone that would.

“It would surprise me if there were two per cent of guys out here doing drugs.”

DiMarco also questioned what benefit players would gain from “bulking up” too much.

“There are drugs out there that can obviously relax you, make you less nervous,” he said.

“But I don’t know how getting stronger would necessarily help as you are going to lose flexibility and that is one of the big things you need.

“You are seeing bigger, stronger athletes but I promise you if you go watch Tiger Woods for a week and see how he gets big and strong it is because he is working his butt off.

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Seve Ballesteros officially retired from competition Monday, ending a charismatic career filled with five major championships, a record 50 victories on the European Tour and a fighting spirit that reinvigorated Europe in the Ryder Cup.

Ballesteros, who turned 50 in April, has not been a force in golf for the last 10 years as he has coped with back injuries.

He was torn between trying to keep playing and stepping away, and decided to give it one last chance at the Masters, where he won twice. But he finished last after rounds of 86-80, then tried one event on the Champions Tour.

“I don’t have the desire,” Ballesteros said at a news conference at Carnoustie, where he made his British Open debut in 1975.

He said he would continue to play golf with his children, and his focus would be spent on his family and his business, which includes golf course design. His announcement follows television reports from Spain that he tried to commit suicide, which Ballesteros said “were not even close to reality.”

Ballesteros did for Europe what Arnold Palmer did for American golf a generation earlier. He was a swashbuckler on the course, a combination of power and amazing imagination. He won one of his three British Open titles by playing a shot from the car park, and perhaps his greatest shot was a 3-wood from bunker on the final hole of the Ryder Cup in 1983, the first time Europe had a chance.

Inspired by his fierce style, Europe closed the gap on the United States in the matches until winning for the first time in 1985, and dominating ever since. One of those victory came in 1997 at Valderrama, with Ballesteros as the captain.

He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1999.

Source - www.sports.yahoo.com

Jean Van de Velde has revealed that he has had tests for bone cancer as he seeks the cause of the illness which ended his chances of returning to the scene of his Open Championship heartbreak in 1999.

Van de Velde started feeling ill after the Portuguese Open in April and has already undergone numerous tests, the most recent of which took place in Biarritz today.

The 41-year-old was unable to compete in Open qualifying because of the problem and earlier this month made the “bitterly disappointing” decision that he was not fit enough for last week’s Scottish Open, an event that would have given him a last crack at winning his place at Carnoustie.

In 1999, Van de Velde led by three standing on the final tee and was poised to become France’s first winner of the Claret Jug since 1907, but in dramatic fashion he ran up a triple-bogey seven to fall into a tie with Paul Lawrie and Justin Leonard and lost the play-off to Lawrie.

“I went into an exam today where they inject you and after they look to see if you have any structural problem with your bone; basically if you have any bone cancer,” Van de Velde explained in a telephone interview.

“On Thursday I’m undergoing another procedure to find out what happened to me and what can be done and needs to be addressed.

“I don’t want to waste any time. I want to get back in shape and I want to play golf.”

The idea of giving Van de Velde a wild card had been mooted but was turned down by the R&A, chief executive Peter Dawson admitting it was “emotionally tempting” but adding it would not be fair “to anyone else if we start to issue invitations.

This is the Open Championship and people earn their way in by exemption or qualification”.

Asked if he would have been able to accept such an offer, Van de Velde added: “I’m pretty sure that I would have honoured the invite because of all the memories that it brings back.

“But saying that, would I have been able to compete? I would say that 99% the answer would be no.

“I am absolutely devastated, I’m very sad that I’m not there this week. But you should have all been with me from 8am this morning until midday when I left the hospital.

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Gregory Havret’s sudden-death play-off victory over Phil Mickelson to claim The Barclays Scottish Open came about courtesy of a crucial sand save – the area of his game that the Genworth Financial Statistics reveal to be 100 per cent during his week at Loch Lomond.

After respective rounds of 68 and 69, the duo tied on 14 under par after 72 holes and required a play-off to separate them. Replaying the 455 yard par four 18th hole, Mickelson just avoided the loch and drove into nasty rough while Havret found the middle of the fairway, belying his Driving Accuracy of 62.5% and 49th place in the standings.

Mickelson hit a fine second shot out of trouble, but his third shot was struck too hard and as his delicate chip just missed the hole for par, Havret, who had found the greenside bunker with his approach and splashed out to five feet, was left with that tricky length putt to take the title.

The Frenchman duly obliged, and showed that his Putts Per Round statistic of 27.5, and sixth place ranking, also considerably helped towards collecting the £500,000 top prize and final available spot in The Open Championship at Carnoustie.

Source - www.europeantour.com

World Number Three Phil Mickelson made a confident start to his Open Championship preparations by grabbing a share of the lead on 65 early in the first round of The Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond Golf Club.

The American left-hander, who started at the 10th hole, fired an eagle and five birdies to join playing partner Graeme Storm of England and Dane Soren Hansen on six under par.

“We had a great day to score low,” said Mickelson. “There wasn’t much wind and, even though it’s a little cool, the greens were putting very well.

“This afternoon over the last few holes, the wind started to pick up and it was a little more challenging. But the course is so much fun to play and I love the way it has been set up.”

Mickelson, who has been struggling with an injury to his left wrist, missed the cut in his previous two US PGA Tour events.

“Last week at Congressional I started to hit the ball a lot better,” he said. “I putted very poorly but it was the first time I started to really feel comfortable with the swing changes I’ve been making with (coach) Butch (Harmon).”

The 37-year-old American explained that he had been working with Harmon to try to develop the shots he would need to challenge in The Open at Carnoustie next week.

“The last few months with Butch we’ve been working on the low shot, and I did a number of them today, and I feel very confident I will be able to keep a lot of drives in play next week at Carnoustie.

“The one area I have always struggled with over here is off the tee. You don’t need to hit the ball hard, you don’t need to hit the ball high, you need to hit the ball lower and take advantage of the firm ground.”

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While Luke Donald ponders whether the Scottish Open is the right way for him to prepare for the Open Championship, Ernie Els has no doubts.

“This is probably my favourite fortnight on the Tour schedule,” says the South African on his website.

“Some say that playing at Loch Lomond is not the best preparation for the Open. Their theory is that it couldn’t be further removed from links golf.

“Well, that’s true. It’s nothing like links golf. But that’s not an issue for me. I love Loch Lomond and I’ve played enough links golf over the years to know what it takes to do well in the British (Open).”

That will be welcome news to all concerned at Loch Lomond after Donald’s comments.

Donald has finished fifth and second in the last two Scottish Opens, but says that he could decide to bypass the tournament in future.

What matters most to Britain’s top-ranked player is success in the majors and he said: “If I don’t have a good Open Championship next week I might have to consider something different.”

World number nine Donald has played in the Open seven times and has yet to post a top-30 finish.

He missed the halfway cut in the first five of them, was 52nd at St Andrews two years ago and then 35th at Hoylake last summer.

What Donald would like is for Loch Lomond to be a week earlier in the schedule so that he could then play seaside golf in preparation for the Open, but a new six-year deal was signed with sponsors Barclays in February for the event to remain in its present slot.

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With advance ticket sales 15 per cent ahead of last year, record crowds are expected to head to Loch Lomond this week to watch Johan Edfors defend his title in the £3,000,000 Barclays Scottish Open, and for the fourth year running, spectators at the event will be helping to raise money for the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS).

While the world’s top golfers, including Phil Mickelson, Angel Cabrera, Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen, David Howell, Tom Lehman, Colin Montgomerie and José Maria Olazábal, compete for the £500,000 first prize, golf fans will be competing for top prizes in various charity golf activities in the Tournament Village, all in aid of CHAS.

There are lots of great prizes on offer including a trip to the famous Butch Harmon Teaching Summit in Las Vegas, the latest Ping G5i Craz-e putter, and a weekend break for six at the Bowmore Distillery on Islay.

Peter Adams, Championship Director of The Barclays Scottish Open, said: “The Barclays Scottish Open is proud to be supporting CHAS with a number of fun activities for spectators in the village including the Huxley Putting Challenge, the Ping Fitting Centre, a Golf Teaching Centre in association with Provision, Golf Lessons with Explanar, two golf simulators and the Grand Prize Draw.”

Niall Flanagan, General Manager, Loch Lomond Golf Club, said: “Last year we raised £20,000 for CHAS over the week of the tournament so all being well we can better that this year. Advanced ticket sales are well ahead of 2006, which is remarkable given The Open Championship is taking place in Scotland this year. We are expecting record crowds and anyone who has not yet purchased tickets will be able to do so at the gate.”

Source - www.europeantour.com