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Harrington and Sergio Garcia put on a show to remember in the 90th PGA Championship on the South Course of Oakland Hills. It was a battle to the finish and, in the end, Harrington's gut instinct was on the mark.

The Irishman won his first PGA Championship, $1,350,000 and the Wanamaker Trophy. It's his second straight major and he's now won three of the last six majors.

When asked if he was ready to challenge for the world's best golfer, he said it was a nice question to be asked. He is ranked third in the world behind Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson and has been the top European for most of the last six years.

Harrington shot a pair of 4-under 66s on Sunday -- he had not played his third round due to a weather suspension on Saturday -- and finished at 3-under 277 (71-74-66-66).

Garcia (69-73-69-68) and Ben Curtis (73-67-68-71) tied for second at 1-under 279 with Camilo Villegas (74-72-67-68) and Henrik Stenson (71-70-68-72) tied for third at one-over 281.

Curtis held the 54-hole lead at 2-under, while Harrington and Garcia were each at 1-over to start the final round.

Curtis was in the group behind Harrington and Garcia and could sense what was happening. "So it was kind of fun. I wish, I almost wish that (I was) playing with them just to kind of see what was really going on," Curtis said.

The Irishman and Spaniard gave the fans quite a show. But they also had their eye on Curtis, who was in the picture until bogeys at the 15th and 17th.

Garcia got off to a hotter start with a birdie on No. 1 and an eagle on the par-5 second hole. At the turn, Garcia was 3-under and Harrington was even.

Garcia made good up and downs on the eighth and ninth to keep his edge.

"It looked like his day. Especially through 8 and 0, he's holing the putts, you know and this is obviously an area that maybe he struggled with in the past and it's really looking like it's going to happen for him," Harrington said.

He admitted he had to do some talking to himself not to get too sentimental that maybe it was Garcia's turn to win his first major.

"I had to convince myself that, no, it's going to be my day and I deserved to win three majors, you know, whatever," Harrington said laughing.

Harrington birdied 10, 12 and with his birdie on 13 he tied Garcia at 3-under.

But Harrington gave a shot back with a bogey on the 14th. Heading into the 16th hole Garcia, at 3-under owned a one shot lead. On his approach shot to the 16th green from 178 yards he hit the bank to the right and the ball bounced and rolled into the water. That bogey tied the two at 2-under heading into the final two holes, which had played the toughest.

Even though they were tied Harrington, who won the British Open in July, felt confident before teeing off on the 238-yard par 3 17th hole.

He blasted a 5-iron and knew he hit it well, although because the green is uphill he couldn't see exactly where his ball landed.

"So I knew I had to put a good swing there and try to hit it up on the right tier," said Garcia, who also used a 5-iron.

When the pair got to the green one ball was 4 feet from the hole, the other 10 feet and at first they didn't know which was which. Harrington's was outside and he holed the putt for a birdie. Garcia's ball took a little hop on its roll and lipped out on the left. He settled for par.

"I felt I hit a good putt," Garcia said.
But it did not go in and it could have cost him the championship.

Neither could hit the fairway on what could be considered one of the toughest finishing holes at a major, the 498-yard par-4 18th hole.

Garcia was in a greenside bunker in two, while Harrington was in the rough 142 yards out.

Harrington, who loves a good fight on the golf course, sunk a 15-foot putt for par and the victory.

"I know I love being on the back nine of a major on a Sunday," Harrington said. "I love it so much I'm actually disappointed I'm seven months away from the next major and I don't know what I'm going to do."

Obviously Garcia wanted to win, but he said he wasn't disappointed. "I obviously played nicely," Garcia said. "I shot a 69-68 on a tough Sunday at a major. So I'm pretty happy about that.î

Harrington said he was not sure what to expect on Sunday afternoon, but he knew from experience that nobody goes without making mistakes. His plan was to stay patient and he would get his opportunity. It worked.

Harrington was the first European to win the PGA Championship since Tommy Armour did so in 1930.

He was struck by the fact he's the first European to win back-to-back majors in the same season.

"Obviously I hold a lot of European players, who I grew up watching in high esteem," Harrington said. "To believe that I achieved something that they hadn't is very special."

As a golf fan and a golf pro, Harrington said he would have liked to see Garcia get his first major. But as a competitor? Not so much.

It was a hard-fought battle through wind and rain. The sun shone for the final showdown. Many fans were soaked on Saturday, but came back on Sunday for a little more. It was worth the effort. Harrington and Garcia did not disappoint.

"Well I hope (the fans) enjoyed it. It was fun. Like I said before, I felt like I gave it a good shot and it was good fun, and unfortunately it just came up a little short. But that's the way it is sometimes. I'm sure that everybody enjoyed it and that's also important, too," Garcia said.