Battle lines drawn again as big two fight it out

Having spent more time with one another in the last week than most married couples, the good news is Tiger Woods and Pádraig Harrington were still talking with one another after a four-and-a-half hour walk.

Even more, they were laughing.

Then again, why not? Grouped together in Game 23, they had combined for 10 birdies against just one bogey, which is not a bad way to start any tournament, let alone a major. Their brilliant work had not only left them at five-under 67 (Woods) and four-under (Harrington), but propped 1-2 atop the leaderboard of the 91st PGA Championship with half the field having completed play at Hazeltine National GC.

So, the smiles flowed, which is totally different than the last time they were side-by-side. That was last Sunday, the fourth and final round of the Bridgestone Invitational and what came at the tail end of that head-to-head competition were some critical words (from Woods) and a series of indifferent shots (from Harrington).

That situation, of course, stemmed from some tardy play by Harrington and Woods that led rules officials to warn them, then place them “on the clock.” Harrington conceded later that he should have handled it better. Instead, he rushed his drive, his lay-up, his approach, and his deft flop shot – four horrid swings that led to a triple-bogey at the par-five 16th and turned his one-stroke lead into a three-shot deficit.

While one might have figured that Harrington had reason to be upset, it was Woods who expressed anger for rules official John Paramor. As if he felt the competitive air had been punctured by Paramor, Woods was surprisingly blunt. Paramor, he said, “got in the way,” and for more than two days here, that controversy dominated pre-tournament talk.

At least until it was learned that for Round 1, the Irishman would again be alongside Woods.

Journalists and those who love storylines were ecstatic. So, too, were tens of thousands of fans, most of whom tried to watch the game as it pushed off of Hazeltine’s 10th hole.

At no point did it disappoint, for Woods went bogey-free and Harrington had but one blemish, at his 10th hole, the par-four first.

Each played the back in two-under 34, then after Harrington dropped a shot at the first, both birdied the second and third. Harrington pulled even with Woods at the par-four sixth, but Woods went back ahead by one with a birdie at the par-five seventh.

And as each man threw down scintillating shots on top of sterling putts, the smiles were exchanged. They didn’t need to hold signs, but it was clear that each was enjoying the battle, almost as if it were a continuation of Sunday.

It has been suggested that Woods wants nothing more than to shine against Harrington, as if to remind the Irishman that “those two majors you won last year, they were without me in the field; remember, I was hurt.”

Not that Woods doesn’t have that sort of competitive edge to him, but in this case it’s hard to buy into that. On too many occasions Woods has expressed genuine respect for Harrington – in fact, it could be argued that he admires Harrington more than any player he goes against.

More likely, Woods sees in Harrington a guy who won’t give an inch and a guy who learned from years of heartache how to finish the job. No, Harrington didn’t finish at the Bridgestone, but the guess is, Woods thinks he very well could have if not for the “on the clock” fiasco.

All too often, a Woods victory has been followed by insinuations by journalists and fans alike that there’s just no one out there to stand up to the game’s best player. Where, it has been asked, are the competitors to stand up to Woods as Lee Trevino and Tom Watson stared down Jack Nicklaus on a handful of occasions?

Fair enough, but if it were to be asked of Woods, the guess is he’d point to the guy who seems glued to him these days and suggest, “He’s right here.”

Let the record show he’ll be there again Friday, for Harrington will once again be paired with Woods.

Such a delicious prospect.