On a Surreal and Somber Sunday in St. Louis, Padraig Harrington Prevails

Many now-PGA Tour Champions pros were in St. Louis on Sept. 11, 2001, 21 years ago Sunday, and some also mourned this week following Queen Elizabeth II's death.

ST. LOUIS - Golf is in a strange place right now.

For instance, having concluded its Tour Championship a couple of weeks ago, the PGA Tour is in between seasons. No really, there is a PGA Tour offseason, and it’s going right now. It will last, oh … about five minutes, before 2022-23 begins with the Fortinet Championship later this week.

Meanwhile, both darts and daggers were flying in Europe. The DP Tour’s BMW Championship in Surrey, England, featured pointed words and testy tweets among combatants—both the LIVing and the Touring. Apparently, Sergio Garcia preferred the atmosphere in Austin, Texas. He shot 76 at Wentworth on Thursday, 86ed his tee time on Friday and grabbed a spot on the sideline at the Alabama-Texas game.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour Champions crowd was in St. Louis. But make no mistake, there are those among the Silverbacks who are LIVid about things, as well. You can’t escape politics, no matter where you are. After all, the Saudi’s signature signee, Phil Mickelson, won four Champions events last season, including the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup. And, technically, Lee Westwood becomes eligible in late April, when he turns 50.

The winningest Champions Tour player of all time—Hale Irwin—keeps a residence in St. Louis and was at Norwood Hills Country Club over the weekend to support the event. And Irwin’s not so sure the outlaw likes of “Lefty” or LIV Lee will ever be welcome in these parts again.

“I don’t see that happening,” said Irwin, who has 45 Champions Tour wins to go with three U.S. Opens and 20 PGA Tour trophies. “I have belonged to the PGA Tour my whole life. They decided they want to be somewhere else—then they need to go ahead and play there. They don’t belong here anymore.”

Meanwhile, the environment was a bit surreal and somber for some of those competing in the Ascension Charity Classic. St. Louis is exactly where they were 21 years ago, when planes flew into the World Trade Center buildings in New York and the American Express Championship at Bellerive Country Club was cancelled.

Those deja-vu dynamics certainly weren’t lost on Colin Montgomerie, who was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and raised in Yorkshire, England. He was at Bellerive on that terror-filled Tuesday morning in 2001, in stunned disbelief like everyone else. He was back in St. Louis last Thursday when word spread that Queen Elizabeth II had passed away. “Monty” felt like “Jake” Gittes in "Chinatown."

“It’s strange to be in St. Louis; God, it’s amazing,” Montgomerie said. “I was here (in 2001). We flew into St. Louis the day before 9/11 for the American Express at Bellerive, and that had to be canceled. And of course here we are, as a Brit, in St. Louis, and we lost our queen.

“Of all things … St. Louis. Amazing isn’t it, huh? So here we are again.”

Montgomerie received his MBE (Member of the British Empire) from the queen in 1998, his OBE (Officer of the British Empire) from then-Prince Charles in 2005. While Montgomerie was at Norwood Hills, his wife was back in England, placing flowers at Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace.

While not drawing comparisons to 9/11 in any manner, he was clearly emotional talking about the queen. “It’s difficult to explain,” he started, "(Americans) have a president and I suppose he can last four or eight years in office. We’ve had our queen and that’s all we’ve known—for 70 years. All our currency has to change, all our passports, all our coins … It's a big deal.

“There’s an incredible outpouring of grief. It’s the first time in my life that I’ve known to have a king. We have King Charles III now and it’s a whole different feel.”

Side note: although he enjoys St. Louis, organizers would be well advised not to invite Montgomerie back for future golf championships in town. Nothing personal, but …

“I don’t honestly want to come back a third time,” he said with a smile.

Meanwhile, the sedentary PGA Tour, the LIV lip lashing, the solemn anniversary and British bereavement notwithstanding, some compelling golf was actually going on. You remember that—excitement, golf shots, drama?

The championship turned into a nostalgic tug of war between former Ryder Cup captains Padraig Harrington, Steve Stricker and Bernhard Langer. The trio teed off together in the final group, galvanized with celebrated careers, separated by a single stroke.

Harrington held that stroke of separation. And while a double bogey on his fourth hole of the day briefly created a tie, he also held serve, taking the lead back with a birdie on his fifth.

He stumbled once more on his back nine, but hit a Kevin Costner shot over a grandstand to avoid a big number. “I don't think I've ever stood over a pitch from 40 yards as it was and thought 'don't knife this into the hospitality in front of me,' but that crossed my mind,” Harrington said.

The circus shot “saved” bogey and the box on his card was neutered once more with back-to-back birdies. Stricker couldn’t catch him, Langer faded. Y.E. Yang tried, but he wasn’t chasing Tiger Woods and it wasn’t 2009.

The $300,000 Harrington took home was about what he would have cashed had he tied for 13th at the LIV in Boston a week earlier.

But in the end, there was nothing political, nothing tragic, nothing strange about it. In the end, it was entertaining golf. “I've really enjoyed the event, I can't see why I wouldn't be back here next year,” Harrington added. “It's been a great week.”

Mind you, it was only 54 holes—sound familiar? But in the end, it was all about golf. How strange.