SOUTHPORT, England -- In a corner of the locker room at Royal Birkdale, all these years later, Greg Norman resumed the practice of a rare art he long since mastered, the gallant handling of galling defeat.
He packed things into a swanky green bag, stood amid a gaggle of reporters and, as on so many 20th-century Sundays exasperating enough to rate cringe-worthy, answered question after question looking the questioners in the eye.
"I'm not as disappointed as I was in the '80s and '90s, that's for sure," he said after Padraig Harrington repeated his British Open title with a brilliant final-round 69. "It's a different disappointment. Of course you want to close it out. But at the same time you've got to take a little stock of the situation."
By that he meant his redefinition of the human age 53 during the 137th Open given a startling lack of preparation. He'd shown that 53 could wow a golf audience, stretch imaginations and lead a coveted major by two shots after three rounds. He'd also toppled to a tie for third place not only through his dreary 77, but even more so through Harrington's shining back-nine 32.
As Norman's one-shot lead after the front nine dissolved into his staggering 23rd finish between second place and sixth place in majors, all the suspense drained out of the dunes on the Irish Sea and instead cast the light on Harrington.
And when the light went on the 36-year-old Irishman who looked positively mad in the sunshine playing in short sleeves in wretched wind, it found one of the better rounds of the golfing decade, a glowing one-under-par journey forged with a posture brimming with a defending champion's know-how.
"You know, one of the keys to playing well on Sunday is you don't ever get into the consequences of what you're doing," said Harrington, the first European repeat British Open titlist in 102 years. "I did that very well today. I never at any stage -- or if I did for a second or two, I stopped myself -- started to think about what it means to win a second Open, defend an Open, win two majors."
That's partly how he wound up winning a contentious tournament at three-over 283 by a gaping four shots over England's Ian Poulter and by a yawning six over Norman and Sweden's Henrik Stenson. The other part would be the guts he demonstrated from the 17th fairway.
