Harrington salutes his 2008 win
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Not since Peter Thomson wrapped up his hat-trick of Open successes at Hoylake in 1956, has anyone lifted the Claret Jug in three successive years.
Since Thomson’s three-stroke triumph at Royal Liverpool 53 years ago – at the relatively young age of 27 – four Americans have attempted to equal the Aussie legend’s achievement only to fail.
Of that quartet, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods never threatened a third straight triumph although Tom Watson came mighty close in 1984.
At St Andrews 25 years ago, Watson was tied for the lead with just a couple of holes remaining. However, his bogey-par finish allowed Seve Ballesteros to win by two shots – with par-birdie finish and that memorable fist-pump reaction. Watson shared second place with Germany’s Bernhard Langer.
And to fully understand the magnitude of securing three straight Open triumphs - ff Harrington were to win at Turnberry this Sunday, he would become only the second player in 126 years to achieve this milestone.
Here is a list of how other back-to-back Open contenders have fared in their bid to make it a hat-trick of titles:
