Below-par Bertie basks in reflected golfing glory

THEY are both masters at the art of playing their way out of trouble against all the odds.

And they are both familiar with the danger posed by water — in Pádraig Harrington’s case, the Barry Burn, into which his hopes of glory almost sank at the 18th, and in Bertie Ahern’s, the rather hotter variety swirling around him at the Mahon Tribunal.

Indeed, the Taoiseach had been due to spend yesterday explaining an alleged hole in one of his lodgment accounts to the probe, so it must have been something of a sweet relief to instead end up discussing a rather more pleasurable type of hole in one with the new British Open champion.

Conquering hero Pádraig is now so formidable he can even command the ceaseless Irish summer rain to scatter as he did when brilliant July sunshine suddenly broke across the Dublin sky and dappled the Claret Jug in shafts of dazzling light, causing it to shimmer as he held it aloft on the steps of Government Buildings.

The first Irishman to triumph at the Open in six decades, Pádraig was graceful enough to acknowledge the rollercoaster ride he had put the nation through on Sunday night.

“I never seem to do these things easy,” he admitted, before retiring to the Sycamore room for a lunch in his honour with wife Caroline and a large chunk of the Cabinet.

The two major setbacks, which nearly saw Pádraig’s journey to glory cut short at Carnoustie’s notorious watery grave, were forgotten, as all thoughts turned to his battle back to that thrilling showdown, alive with electric drama and raw emotion.

Maybe the homecoming champion had a few tips on such matters for the Taoiseach as Mr Ahern has also suffered a double wobble in his pitch and putt game of crazy golf with the tribunal in recent days. First, his personal banker stated the Taoiseach’s explanation for a pivotal lodgement did not add up and then a second revealed a surprise telephone intervention from Mr Ahern to find out what the investigation knew of his foreign exchange dealings.

Mr Ahern praised Pádraig’s “brilliant and calculated” strategy at the Carnoustie course. No doubt the second term, at least, may resonate with some tribunal members as they reflect on the Taoiseach’s own game plan regarding his dealings with the course of events at Dublin Castle.

Golf-loving Bill Clinton is notorious on the fairways for his trick of insisting on retaking shots — known as a Mulligan — until he prevails.

How different from Mr Ahern’s attempts to get out of the tribunal bunker, saying he was “looking forward” to giving his side of the story one week, then getting his lawyers to try and shut down the probe into his affairs completely the next, finally seeing his appearance postponed until the autumn.

Mr Ahern told Pádraig of the somersault he experienced as the Open climaxed.

“On Sunday night I don’t know if I ended up jumping in the air or on my knees praying,” the Taoiseach informed him.

It is anyone’s guess which of the two positions Mr Ahern will be adopting after his fabled face to face showdown with Judge Alan Mahon on September 11.

For now the Taoiseach is happy to bask in the shimmering afterglow of Pádraig’s glorious victory.