Anyone who plays this game and has made the trip across the water to play on Britain’s unsheltered and often bleak coastline knows how difficult it is to shoot 69 at a 7,000+ yard links course. Those who have played Royal Birkdale, even from the midweek tees, know how good you have to be to go under par. You can safely assume you will never play with anyone who beats 70 at Birkdale in 35-50 mph winds. And anyone who does so to win a major championship — with a dodgy wrist — must be a very special golfer indeed.

With 62s, 63s, and 64s fairly commonplace on today’s professional tours, a round of 69 can be forgotten in the blink of an eye and the turn of a page. But considering the playing conditions and what was at stake, Padraig Harrington’s one-under-par effort to lift the claret jug for the second straight year can only be a step or two down the ladder from the totally implausible 63 recorded at the 1986 Open at Turnberry by none other than the Irishman’s playing partner yesterday, Greg Norman.

In the second round that year, Norman overcame rain and wind (not quite as strong as that which buffeted Birkdale all week) in recording what those who have played golf in similar weather regard as the greatest round the game has ever seen. Johnny Miller’s 63 on Oakmont’s glassy greens to win the 1973 U.S. Open was pretty respectable and Jack Nicklaus’s 65 to win the ’86 Masters is still the game’s most exciting round — but at least they had the sun on their backs.

Harrington’s four-under 32 on the back nine was a work of art, not to mention a work of power, precision, control, and nerve. The 5-wood he hit off a slight downslope to four feet at the 17th — when a pull into the rough on the left or a block into the bunker short right could well have led to a bogey or worse — was nothing short of brilliant. But really, it was only one of a number of superlative shots the defending champion hit down the stretch. There was the beautifully judged approach shot to 10 feet at the 13th; two great metal woods onto the green at the par 5 15th; a great drive and approach at the dead-into-the-wind 16th, and the cherry-on-top 4-iron to the final green that almost pitched into the hole.

Oh, how Norman could have done with a few of those shots. Newly married and newly happy (see how all the money in the world –well, half of it — doesn’t mean a thing if you’re not waking up next to the right woman every morning?), the Aussie looked and sounded like a man destined to become the first senior golfer ever to win a major. He even looked like he might eclipse Tiger Woods’s monumental victory at Torrey Pines last month.

Wisely downplaying his chances all week and setting his expectations low, Norman was able to avoid the stress he clearly felt at the majors during his prime. His nemesis, Nick Faldo, was on the sidelines; he had a similarly gnarly old character on the bag in Linn Strickler, and even his wife, Chris Evert, suggested he use the week as a tune-up for next week’s Senior British Open. As a result, he seemed relaxed, serene even.

As the pressure mounted yesterday, however, it seemed Norman stopped enjoying himself. Instead, he let the pressure get to him. One could see the same old Norman flaws appearing. Just as at Augusta in 1996, when he lost a six-stroke lead to Faldo, his rhythm changed slightly and he began trying to force the issue. In all, he hit 12 drivers when most tee shots called for an iron or hybrid to avoid the hay.

Many observers, admittedly those of his generation, would say the Shark was every bit as talented as Woods. His irons were as solid, his chipping and pitching as crisp. Okay, he might not have holed nearly as many must-make putts. But he was no slouch with the flat-stick, either. And Norman was almost certainly a better, more consistent driver of the ball than Tiger has ever been.

The biggest reason why Woods has 14 majors and counting, and Norman will surely end his career on two, is that Woods knows how to sit on a lead and how to deal with something like yesterday afternoon. He recognizes better than anyone (save for Nicklaus, perhaps) the point at which all he needs to do is make pars and force others to take on shots they wouldn’t otherwise attempt.

Had Norman been able to suppress his nerves, hit Harrington-like shots, and win, next month’s PGA Championship would have needed a 60-year-old amputee for a champion to create any buzz. Had he won, the Ryder Cup might have needed a surprise early return to the game by Woods to change people’s conversation. Had he won, all bets would have been off for sports story of the year — assuming Michael Phelps doesn’t break eight world records and Usain Bolt doesn’t break nine seconds for the 100 meters at next month’s Olympic Games.

But hang on. Rather than chastise the 53-year-old for failing to hold on to the eighth 54-hole lead he has held at a major during his career, let’s celebrate his magical performance over the first three days. Let’s not revert to statistics or review the video to explain how he let this one go, but recognize that after having become a part-time golfer (with emphasis on “part”) and playing just 23 official tournaments during the last five years, what he did at Birkdale was truly exceptional.

Ian Poulter’s closing 69 to finish second was a terrific achievement, too, as was English amateur Chris Wood’s tie for fifth. But no one was better than Harrington. And given his poor showings in the wind at previous championships, it’s a fair bet Woods would have had trouble matching him this weekend.

tonydear71@comcast.net