There have been alsorts of stories about how golf will suffer in 2008 because Tiger is injured but if there was ever to be a tournament to dispell that myth, it had to be last weeks USPGA!!!

I didn't get a chance to see much of the first 3 days play but I sat there glued to my TV screen last Sunday night watching some of the best golf I had seen in a long time.

So, what are my thoughts on why Harrington won his 3rd major and Sergio still has none??

We could all come up with some great reasons why Padraig won couldn't we? But for me one small factor made the biggest difference.

Padraig had won 2 majors before!!!

I don't think you can under estimate the importance of that. Padraig could just 'do his best and play' in the knowledge that if he didn't win he still had 2 majors to 'fall back on', I believe that 'one' thing made the difference in how he could maintain his 'freedom' in his putting stroke, which as we all saw eventually proved the difference between the 2 players.

In my playing days I can remember putting well and one of the 'clearest' memories is the 'freedom' when I putted.

What is 'freedom'?? And how do you get it and maintain it??

Freedom of stroke is all about a 'mindset' and when I achieved it I was a devastating putter!!

Putting well is all about trusting yourself and having no doubts when you strike the ball, this frame of mind is achieved generally when you accept that you don't mind 'missing the putt'!!! This may sound daft but in my experience when I was able to concentrate more on the line of the putt and the pace I needed to hit the ball and worry less about holing the putt and definately not worry about the importance of the putt in relation to my score, I putted better.

It was almost like the more I accepted it didn't matter if I missed as long as I did the 'best I could' the more putts I holed. The great thing about holing putts is that it breeds more confidence, so when I got into this frame of mind and started holing putts I seemed to keep on holing putts.

When I watched Sergio and Padraig last Sunday night it just seemed to me that Harrington could 'afford to miss' because of his major successes before, but Garcia 'had to hole his putts' because he's desperate to win his first major and it was a great chance for him to win.

I think this small thing in the players mindsets made the difference!!

I felt very sorry for Sergio at the end, but incredibly respectful of Padraig and how he has developed himself into a 'steely' character that grinds out a win probably just as well as anyone I 've ever seen.

One last note about the PGA, I felt it was a fantastic example of how European players are developing and getting more and more used to competing in the USA. I'm sure it's just the start of more and more victories for European players!!

Good golfing

Paul