Punished by Padraig

The first Tiger-less major in ALACS history ended without suspense on Sunday when Padraig Harrington captured golf’s oldest trophy for the second consecutive year, winning the British Open by four strokes. Through the lens of the ALACS, the biggest story was an e-mail sent out from the Commissioner’s Office on Wednesday, July 16th - a day before the British began – to five ALACS’ers who’d selected Harrington.

Gentlemen,
In the spirit of fair competition and not penalizing people who submitted their golfers early, I wanted to make you guys aware of this:

http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/britishopen08/news/story?id=3491525 [article details a wrist injury sustained by Harrington in the days leading up to the open]

Each of the people receiving this e-mail has selected Harrington for the British. I wanted to let you know that you are free to change that selection (if you'd like to; I haven't made up my mind yet) as long as you get me your replacement by 9 PM tonight.

Six ALACS participants – Steve Duin, Chris Platt, Mike Marty, Dan Goldman, Brandon Seroyer, and The Commish himself – had selected Harrington as their Tier 2 golfer for the British, but after reading that Harrington was giving himself only a 50% chance to make it through the first round, everyone but Dan and Brandon switched Padraig out of their foursome. Numerous media outlets reported hearing anguished cries and wails of frustration reverberating through the walls of the Commissioner’s Office when Harrington sealed the deal on Sunday morning.

Harrington’s win blew the PGA Majors Game Standings wide open. The 50-point boost gave Dan Goldman what may be an insurmountable lead; his total score of 152.107 points gives him more than a 33-point lead over ALA veteran Brandon Seroyer, who moved into second with Harrington’s victory. Logan Morrison also made a major charge up the standings, moving into 4th place on the strength of Ian Poulter’s second place finish.


As might be expected as the 2008 PGA season progresses and more and more golfers are removed from the tiered ALACS selection pool, average scores for ALACS foursomes have dropped with each major. This does not bode well for anyone not named Dan Goldman. Even for those close behind Goldman in the standings, it will take a small miracle to make up the points necessary to provide a boost into first place.


Next Up: The PGA Championship at Oakland Hills Country Club, August 7th – 10th.