Golfers set the right example at Royal Birkdale

So yet another fantastic Open Golf Championship comes to a close with a worthy winner in Padraig Harrington. Who said the Open wouldn’t be the same without the Tiger?

I was fortunate to be there on Saturday to see Greg Norman play some of the most magical golf of the tournament. While it was a shame that he couldn’t maintain that standard through Sunday, Harrington’s performance was that of a true champion.

But beyond the great play, the other thing that struck me is how good golf and its star players are at presenting the right image.

These guys are worth serious amounts of money, but you never see the kind of petulant, spoilt brat behaviour we now associate all too commonly with our footballers.

Rules and good sportsmanship have been passed down through the generations by golfers and anyone who oversteps the mark is quickly brought back into line.

While golfers must sometimes feel like letting loose a stream of expletives after making a double bogey, instead they still find time to acknowledge the crowds’ almost embarrassed applause.

Unlike many of our footballers, golfers are still able to appreciate how lucky they are to be able to make their living playing the game they have loved since they were a child.

It means that when Harrington lifted the famous Claret Jug yesterday, not a single spectator at Birkdale or TV viewer at home would begrudge him his glorious victory.