As much as golf looked the same in 2007, some of the greatest triumphs were long overdue.
Until a dramatic and calamitous Sunday on the cruel links of Carnoustie, the only time Padraig Harrington had reason to wave the Irish flag was during the Ryder Cup or perhaps a World Cup.
But while his playoff victory in the British Open was purely an individual achievement, it was celebrated across a continent.
It was the first major for a European in eight long years, and the first for an Irishman since Fred Daly in 1947.
“Hopefully, it will inspire the other players,'' Harrington said.
The man who ruled one of the toughest courses in America was Angel Cabrera, a burly Argentine who strutted down the fairways, puffing on a cigarette.
He delivered all the right shots in the US Open, none more significant than a booming tee shot on the final hole that stopped a slide and allowed him to hold off Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk.
It was the first major for an Argentine in 40 years, dating to Roberto de Vicenzo's victory in the 1967 British Open.
For years, the indelible image of Rose was that of an 18-year-old boy in the British Open at Royal Birkdale, holing a wedge on the final hole in 1998 to tie for fourth.
He turned pro the next week, then missed 21 consecutive cuts until he slowly pulled himself out of the abyss and back toward respectability.
Redemption came on a nerve-racking November day with one putt that brought him two trophies. His 12-foot birdie on the second extra hole at Valderrama allowed him to prevail in the Volvo Masters, and it was enough for the 27-year-old to capture the European Tour Order of Merit for the first time.
“It's been a long road to get here,'' Rose said. “But I feel great.''
On an international stage, those three players figured the most prominently.
The best major was the oldest major, and the British Open brought redemption not only for Europe, but Carnoustie. The last time a European had won the Claret Jug was in 1999, also at Carnoustie, when Paul Lawrie stormed from 10 shots behind in a final round that even now is known more by the shocking collapse of Jean Van de Velde, who made triple-bogey on the last hole and lost in a playoff.
Carnoustie was ridiculed as being tricked up, and it proved to be a fair test this time around.
That didn't spare the gallery some theatrical moments.
Garcia had a three-shot lead going into the final round, but it became a free-for-all featuring Garcia, Harrington, Ernie Els and Andres Romero.
Harrington seized control with an eagle on the 14th, and he had a one-shot lead going to the notorious 18th hole on a course reputed to be the toughest links in golf.
Harrington's tee shot bounced along a bridge over Barry Burn until it disappeared into the chilly water. After a penalty drop, his five-iron was struck so poorly that the Irishman hung his head and looked up in time to see it go in the burn again. The next shot was the most pivotal.
After another penalty drop, Harrington hit a pitch from 50 yards to five feet behind the flag, which he holed for a double-bogey.
“I never let it sink into me that I had just thrown away the Open championship,'' he said.
Garcia made sure of that. The Spaniard hit a three-iron into a bunker and missed his par putt from 10 feet. In the four-hole playoff, Harrington seized the lead immediately with a seven-iron to 10 feet for birdie, a two-shot lead when Garcia made bogey.
Three holes later, Harrington – and Europe – had a major in hand.
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