Harrington Wins on Singh’s Missed Putt

The short putt went to the right in the fading light, just the break Padraig Harrington needed.

The Irishman won the Honda Classic for his first PGA Tour title when Vijay Singh missed a 2 1/2 -foot putt to bogey the second playoff hole.

“I thought it was a gimme,” Harrington said.

“I shouldn’t have missed,” Singh said.

If Harrington was lucky, he was also due; he has been a runner-up 26 times in worldwide events. And he earned the victory Sunday by shooting a nine-under-par 63 in the final round at Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., to erase a seven-shot deficit and end up in a three-way tie with Singh and Joe Ogilvie at 274. Ogilvie was eliminated when he bogeyed the first extra hole.

Ranked eighth in the world, Harrington is believed to be the first player from the Republic of Ireland to win a tour event. An assistant to Irish President Mary McAleese phoned with congratulations, and Harrington said he knew his compatriots were watching the tournament on TV.

“I’m sure I kept a few pubs open,” the Dublin native said. “It’s very good to be the first Irishman. Nobody can take that away from me.”

Later Sunday, Irishman Des Smyth won the SBC Classic in Valencia for first Champions Tour title.

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Ernie Els won his second straight tournament in the Middle East, rallying to take the Qatar Masters by one shot after carding a seven-under 65 in the final round.

Els, who finished with a 12-under 276, had seven birdies to come back from a five-stroke deficit and edge Henrik Stenson of Sweden at the Doha Golf Course.