Harrington steps up in Tiger's absence

Even though ratings and attendance dropped at most tournaments this summer, at least someone stepped up in Tiger Woods' absence.  Drew Sharp of the Detroit Free Press elaborates on this topic in his post-championship commentary after Padraig Harrington's win:

But Harrington’s biggest accomplishment was rescuing a golf summer diagnosed as gravely ill upon Woods’ decision to have reconstructive knee surgery following his exhilarating playoff victory at the U.S. Open. It created a vacuum, but also provided an opportunity. Yet the PGA and Oakland Hills feared a public stamp of illegitimacy to these proceedings, reflective in poor attendance numbers and a generally apathetic tone for any golf event that doesn’t include Woods.

But Sunday’s finish had the two things the PGA and Oakland Hills prayed for most — high drama with high name recognition.

Now, I think we all want to see a Harrington-Woods showdown on the back-9 at Augusta come April.