Why didn't Padraig chip sideways???

[enduro]

I agree. Thats what i would have done too. Dont gamble your whole tournament on one shot with 2 holes remaining.

He would have lost if he made bogey anyways and everyone would talk about how he should have went for it. They would have said it's a championship and you have to take the kind of shot champions take, etc, etc.

So he was kind of screwed no matter what. I think the aggressive play was the right one, he just didn't execute. You're playing against Tiger Woods...the kind of Tiger that just drilled a 182 yard 8-iron to within 1'. You simple have to make the big shot. He loses this tournament no matter what he does anyways.

[jonnythan]

needs to start thinking about himself as the one to beat.

Isn't that exactly what he was doing..?

[uttexas]

Padraig made so many mistakes on that hole. With a one shot lead and a long, dangerous par five, I don't know why he didn't play it safe off the tee. The danger on that 16th is going for it in two. If you stay in the fairway off the tee, it's a lay up over the left bunker which still gives a good chance at birdie with a good wedge into the hole.

[Cesar]

People say.. "Tiger being Tiger..." ok, but Padraig needs to start thinking about himself as the one to beat. Padraig could go birdie/birdie, par/birdie to win or tie it. And, Tiger is not without 'folding' a bit in those situations, no it doesn't happen all the time, but remember what he did at the Masters when he chipped in on 16 (a similar, incredible shot). DiMarco kept the pressure on and Tiger went

Agree. 1 shot down with 2 to play is not "game over" as some have suggested. Not by a long shot.

A birdie or two to finish and anything can happen. Tiger being the opponent shouldn't change that.

[Divot Tool]

This is turning out to be a great discussion folks. Great dialogue going on here.

I don't think chipping it sideways was even an option in Harrington's head, given the circumstances as many of you have iterated. Those of you who are in favour of making the 'safe play' by chipping out, make a solid point insofar as Padraig lives for another hole. However, this is not your regular sunday round for bragging rights. Given the context, the pressure, the stage. . . how does one not lose focus for one shot, be it a most crucial one? I can't fault the guy as he and Tiger were both on the clock.

As Iacas said earlier in his post, Paddy does have a solid short game, and he believed that he could hit that shot from that lie, otherwise he would not have attempted to hit it. While the flop shot was poorly executed and/or perhaps even rushed, I'm proud that he attempted to hit that shot in that situation. His decision to play the shot was not a mental error.

How many of us have attempted shots that we had to truly dig deep to pull it off even when it scared the sh*t out of us? How many of us, attempted a shot when the odds of pulling it off were slim? Divot Tool here has . . .some were awesome and others disastrous, but you know what I learned a lot from them and even more about my heart.

If I were Padraig in that situation, I too would have tried that shot.

I believe Byron Nelson said it best, "the lord hates a coward."

[Laurentius]

Paddy wanted the win which is good. If he played safe and took the bogey, TW would run away with the win anyhow.

But, if Paddy hit a decent shot. He for sure could have saved par.