Form is temporary, but class is permanent

Post by Golf Writer Derek Clements

You could be forgiven for missing two of the most significant victories of the year as the season finally drew to an albeit far too brief close. Before we know it, they will be at it again.

But did you catch the wins achieved by Messrs Westwood and Harrington? Westwood won the Thailand championship from a field that included the likes of Martin Maymer, Sergio Garcia, Tommy Fleetwood and Bubba Watson. And Harrington won his first tournament in what seems like a million years when he came out on top in the Indonesia Open.

Harrington's last triumph actually came in 2010 at the Johor Open, on the Asian Tour. He won The Open in 2007 and 2008, and the US PGA championship in 2008 and for a while was regarded as the best player in the world, but has fallen a long way since then. A long, long way. Incredibly, the Irishman went into the tournament ranked 385th in the world.

He overcame an early fourth-round wobble and a brave charge from Thailand’s Thanyakon Khrongpha to win the Indonesia Open by two shots after a dramatic final hole.
The Irishman and the 24-year-old Thai headed down the 18th level at 16-under but both found trouble from the tee.

Harrington hit his drive to the edge of the water hazard, with Thanyakon failing to capitalise by dumping his second in the lake en route to a double-bogey six, while the Irishman recovered to record a par four despite taking a penalty drop.

“I had a bad break on the 18th hole when I hit my tee shot and it rolled to the edge of the hazard,” Harrington said.

“I was about to chip my ball sideways to the fairway but when Thanyakon hit it into the water, there was no point to take a chance. So I went back to the fairway and hit my six iron for my best shot of the week.

“Winning is a good habit to have. It gives you a lot of confidence and I need that confidence. I didn’t start too well but I came through and I got the win. This win brings a lot of confidence to my game and hopefully it will show up next year.”

Whether he can kick on from here is open to debate, but if ever a player deserved to get back on the winning trail it is Harrington, who is one of the hardest workers in the game.

Westwood needed to win for different reasons. Barely two years ago he was number one in the world, but he has had two poor seasons and has watched his ranking plummet during 2014.

If you want to play in the majors, you need to be in the top 50 in the world rankings, and Westwood was in serious danger of falling out of that elite group of players.

The 41-year-old Englishman went into the final round trailing both Kaymer and Marcus Fraser of Australia, but he kept chipping away at the lead, closed the gap and eventually won the title by a shot when both Fraser and Kaymer failed to birdie the final hole.

Westwood's 67 was good enough, but what really made the difference was his outstanding putting. He would be the first to admit that his putting has cost him several majors but he is now putting with his left hand below right and everything looks smooth and natural.

The victory means that Westwood is assured of his place at Augusta in April and he still believes that he can land that elusive major. If he can maintain his touch on the greens, it would surprise nobody.

Harrington has a long, long way to go. He won't be at Augusta unless he starts winning on a regular basis - a victory on the PGA Tour would do the job very nicely, thank you very much.

But we should salute their achievements - a reminder that form may be temporary, but class is permanent.

Derek Clements is a sports journalist with a particular passion for golf with over 12 years of experience covering golf and other sports including Chief Sub-Editor on the sports desk of The Sunday Times. To contact Derek email direct via [email protected]