Phil the Thrill the obvious pick

THE stage is set and the principal actors are ready to walk on. The question is, who will be taking the curtain calls on Sunday night when the US Open trophy is handed out for the 110th time.

There are plenty of bit players and popular character actors ready to ignore their cameos parts and step into the spotlight reserved for Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

The lovably eccentric Dubliner Pádraig Harrington has three majors on his mantelpiece, but you never know which version of the Irish star is going to turn up. Will it be the dogged assassin who crushed Sergio Garcia at Carnoustie and Oakland Hills; the swashbuckling champion who left the field for dead at Royal Birkdale or the man who’s game has become so erratic over the past two years that not even he knows what’s going to happen next. “It’s not like I’m carrying in unbelievable form, I’m just trying to hold it together and get through one more week,” Harrington said. “I am looking for something to fall into place and to get me across that line. I’m hopeful, rather than expectant.”