Standing up to golfing god

FOR many golf fans in the United States, the first image of Pádraig Harrington was delivered in an excruciatingly methodical way.

Singles Sunday of the 1999 Ryder Cup at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, and with an improbable American rally all but complete, Harrington stood in the fairway of the 17th hole and looked over his approach into the dogleg left par-4. Then he walked... and walked... and walked... perhaps as much as 175 yards to green, only to turn around and walk back to his ball, after which he took another minute before finally swinging.

It was maddening to overzealous fans who wanted nothing more than the official OK to celebrate this incredible victory. Harrington was seen as an annoyance, a man in the way of their fun.