Writers' roundtable: Is Paddy now Tiger's chief rival?

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Padraig Harrington has won the last two majors of 2008 during Tiger Woods' absence due to knee surgery.

Padraig Harrington is PGATOUR.COM's spotlight player this week at the Buick Invitational. Harrington not only earned Player of the Year honors in 2008, he's won three of the last six majors played. That begs the question: Will Harrington be the main rival for Tiger Woods when the game's No. 1 player returns? We opened it up to PGATOUR.COM's writers. For more on Harrington this week, check out his Player Spotlight page.

HELEN ROSS, Chief of Correspondents: If there's anything we've learned in the last 12 years is that Tiger Woods has no peer. We've waited for Ernie Els to step up. Phil Mickelson. Sergio Garcia, too. And each one has had his moments but to be honest, it's probably not fair to ask any one player to shoulder the burden of such a rivalry alone.

Padraig Harrington, though, may be the player who most closely mirrors Woods in his work ethic and his unfailing thirst for knowledge. The Irishman is a late bloomer who was working on an accountancy degree while Woods was winning U.S. Amateurs. But Harrington has now won three of the last six majors -- including the 2007 Open Championship with the No. 1 player in the world in the field.

Whether Harrington turns out to be the proverbial "man" remains to be seen, but he's certainly a player who looks to thrive on the challenge as the 2009 season unfolds.

STAN AWTREY, Columnist: The aspect of Harrington that makes him more Tiger-like to me is his toughness. When Padraig won his first Open Championship, it would have been easy for him to give up when he kept hitting the ball in the water on the final hole. But his mental toughness, that grit that Tiger uses so well and 99 percent of the others are lacking, emerged at the crucial moment.

When Padraig won his second Open, he played with a wrist injury that would have prevented a lesser man from even competing. Padraig hung in there and won. Maybe it is his blue-collar background. Maybe he just wants it more.

He's not Tiger -- there's only one of those -- but if anyone is going to beat him, they'll have to come and get it. Padraig isn't going to roll over and give it away.

CRAIG DOLCH, Columnist: Padraig Harrington is a wonderful person and an exceptional golfer. Anybody who wins three majors in a 13-month stretch has virtually assured himself a spot in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

But to borrow a line from a former presidential candidate, "I know Tiger Woods, and, quite frankly, Padraig Harrington is no Tiger Woods."

Then again, who is?

That's my point. We seem more excited about the latest No.2-ranked player in the world -- and that's Sergio Garcia, by the way, not Harrington -- because we want so desperately for someone, anyone, to stand up to Woods and make a compelling rivalry.

That's simply one change that's not going to happen any time soon. Every time Woods has stepped back from the game, either because of an injury or to make another swing change, he has returned a more complete, more dominating player. To think differently this time is to ignore all he has accomplished in the last 12 years.

Just as someone wins a PGA TOUR event every week, someone has to finish second, to be Woods' version of Forrest Gump, appearing in the background of another historical moment. As we have learned, the ones who usually do the best at this (Rocco Mediate, Bob May, Ed Fiori, etc) aren't the ones you would expect them to be.

MIKE McALLISTER, Managing Editor: I think we need to put this issue into proper perspective. No one expects Harrington to knock Tiger off his throne. The question, in my mind, is whether Harrington is the guy who will at least delay Tiger's inevitable rise to No. 1 on the list of most majors won.

In other words, will Harrington make it more difficult for Tiger to catch Jack? In the short term, at least, that answer clearly is yes.

Harrington has proven his worthiness in majors the past two years. Like Tiger, Harrington now defines his season by how many majors he wins. And considering he's just now hitting the peak of his late-blooming career, it's no stretch to suggest that Harrington may have another three or four majors in him -- even if Tiger stays injury-free and plays all four majors each year.

Plus, Harrington owns the British Open. Even with Tiger in the field this year at Turnberry, would you really want to bet against the two-time defending champ?

Perhaps a younger player like Anthony Kim or Camilo Villegas eventually will step up and take a few majors from Tiger. But for now, with two months to go before Augusta, the No. 1 challenger is Harrington. I'm not sure how anybody can argue that.

MELANIE HAUSER, Columnist: First, why do we have to have a rival for Tiger? Can't we simply enjoy the ride with the greatest player of his generation, maybe of all time?

Paddy has won three of the last six majors. He's contended at the Masters and the U.S. Open, too. And, yes, he's mentally tough. Tougher than well, pick one ... For me, it's about enjoying an overlooked major player. He's approachable, soft spoken and articulate. He can spin a tale as well as he can strike the ball. He's got an underrated short game.

But most of all, he likes the challenge. That wrist injury had him thinking it was 50-50 whether or not he would tee off at Birkdale. It was news when he did. Four days later, it was history.

Can't we just let all this play out? If Paddy's there at Augusta or Bethpage or Turnberry and Tiger is right there too . . . it would be great to see. If not? Well, it won't be long.

Tiger won't win every major and Harrington definitely has another one or two in him. Maybe more if he can play at the same level he has the last six majors.

But a rival for Tiger? Let's just let this unfold while we keep an eye on Paddy -- on his focus and his mental toughness. He'll be going for his third consecutive major at Augusta and the third leg of a Slam. A rival? Let's just call him a major contender.