ZealousGolfer.com

As soon as Tiger Woods announced his injury following a spectacular Monday finish to the U.S. Open, golf commentators claimed that some player would find a great deal of opportunity in Tiger's absence.

At this point, it certainly looks like Padraig Harrington is that player. The Irishman whose first major title was won at the 2007 Open Championship rallied on Sunday to finish at 3 under par for 72 holes. Paddy started at one over par for the day, but climbed the leaderboard by posting a brilliant final round of 66.

With that performance, Harrington ousted a number of players searching for their first major title, leaving Ben Curtis and Sergio Garcia in the dust, both two strokes behind.

Interestingly enough, Garcia's last run at a major title came in a Sunday duel between Harrington and Sergio, which was significant as Garcia lost a lead he held for most of the four days of play during that round. This year, however, Sergio performed well on Sunday with a two under par 68, but simply came up short.

So, Harrington has captured two major titles in 2008: the Open and the PGA Championship, which will leave Harrington safely in third place in the World Golf Rankings.

Camilo Villegas and Henrik Stenson tied for fourth place behind Harrington, Curtis, and Garcia with matching one over par finishes for the week.

Phil Mickelson finished to seventh place with an even par round of 70, which never truly left Lefty in contention. Justin Rose (pictured left) failed to make a move with a lackluster 71 on Sunday.

However, J.B. Holmes, who started the day in second place and one under par struggled through his 18 holes en route to an 11 over par Sunday score of 81. Ouch.