Who snitched on Padraig Harrington?

aDeener wrote: »

clearly he is overpaid as no one should be paid that much so as to afford to be able to do that!

TWO Irishmen will remember the 130th Open Championship for the rest of their days but for entirely different reasons.

For Des Smyth it was a dream of a day. For Bray caddie Miles Byrne it was a nightmare. He had Ian Woosnam's bag and there was a air of elation when the wee Welshman knocked his opening tee shot to six inches for a birdie.

However, on the second tee Byrne discovered that there were two drivers in the bag which meant he had 15 clubs, one more than the rules. It carries an automatic two stroke penalty. Instead of starting with two he now had a four on his card. It was a devastating blow for Woosnam. "It is the ultimate sin for a caddie," he said after finishing in a tie for third place with five others including Darren Clarke.

"Miles said to me walking off the second tee 'you're going to go ballistic.' 'Why? I asked.' We have two drivers in the bag.

"I felt like I had just been kicked in the teeth. It took me a few holes to get over and probably cost me another couple of shots. I felt liking picking up the ball and walking off. But you just have to get on with it. That's the fighting spirit in me. I love a good fight, in all sorts of ways. But I never really shook it off."

Byrne was gutted. He did want to talk about it and said simply: "It was my fault. The buck stops with me. I don't know how the driver got in there, If I did it wouldn't had stayed there."

It appears that Woosie took two drivers to the practice range.

"He should have counted the clubs that's what he's paid for. I'll give him a good bollocking when I get him inside.

"It is the biggest mistake he will ever make and he knows it. He's a good caddy, a good lad and he's good at reading the lines." He's also a lucky caddy. Woosie said he won't sack him. Byrne is an experienced caddy. He has been around for quite a while but had just taking two years off and only came back at Benson and Hedges at the Belfry. Woosnam's woe cost him dearly. Those two shots cost him second place on his own and it meant a financial difference of £218,334. That would also have guaranteed his place on the Ryder Cup team. Instead of being 12th he would have moved to fifth.

For the other Irishman it was a week to remember. "I had a wonderful week," said Smyth after shooting 71 for a four under par total and a share of 13th place.

"I could not have asked for better. After coming through qualifying the way I did with 64 in the second round. Then shooting 65 in the second round here. I played really well week.

"It was great. The crowds were amazing. I had a lot of support out there walking down that 18th sent shivers down my spine. I really don't know what I'm going to do next week. I'm entered for the Dutch Open but it will take me a while to come down after this. We'll just wait and see"

The big bonus for Smyth in his 21st Open is that he will be back next year. The top 15 finishers and ties are automatically exempt for next year's championship at Muirfield in Scotland. He also pocketed a cheque for £40,062.

"I am very happy. The putting didn't work for me today but the rest of my game was in good. I actually played better than when I shot 65. I had much more control.

"I got one really bad break on the 14th when I just eight yards off the fairway but I was buried. Unplayable. I did well to make bogey in the end. I made a mistake a the seventh when I got the yardage wrong. But I proved that I can still play in that kind of competition. It was very satisfying."

Much less so for Paul McGinley and Pádraig Harrington. McGinley had a dreadful day. He failed to make a single birdie and finished with 76 to be five over par for the tournament. Harrington played the last eight holes really well.

He was three under par for than part of the journey but the day was only worth 71 for a two over aggregate. He took a share of 37th place winning £16,300 while McGinley was shared 54th spot for £8,943.

upandcumming wrote: »

No he isn't overpaid. Simple as that.

KungPao wrote: »

Imperial measurements.

The definition of precision.