There was talk about applying an asterisk to any major victory with Tiger Woods on the disabled list, but Padraig Harrington applied a different typographical symbol to last year's British Open and PGA Championship: an exclamation point.

Padraig Harrington, left, hoists his son Patrick while his wife, Caroline, approaches him with younger son Ciaran after the Irishman defended his British Open title at the Royal Birkdale course in Southport, England. (Associated Press)

Closing with a back-nine 32 at windswept Royal Birkdale and applying matching 66s on the weekend at Oakland Hills, Harrington won consecutive majors in spectacular fashion. Nobody has ever tried to apply asterisks to Seve Ballesteros' wins in the 1983 Masters (Jack Nicklaus withdrew because of back spasms) and 1988 British Open (No. 1 Greg Norman skipped with a wrist injury), so Harrington need not apologize for his successes.

His fellow golfers voted him PGA Tour Player of the Year over Woods, who had posted some pretty swell numbers in his half season before knee surgery.

"At the time you win them, you certainly feel that nothing could compare to it," Harrington said of his second and third major wins in his past six starts. "But, to be honest, there is no greater accolade than to receive an award from your peers. And to receive the Player of the Year award is phenomenal for me.

''I think in some ways the fact that I had an exceptional year swayed the vote towards me, whereas Tiger's phenomenal year is just what we're used to with Tiger Woods."

Harrington is setting a high standard for himself these days. Going into his defense of the British Open title, a sore wrist kept him from practicing and had him doubtful he would even finish the tournament.

Yet under some of the most extreme weather conditions seen in a tournament, he ran down a revitalized Norman with a final-nine surge that was punctuated by a 5-wood to only a few feet for a clinching eagle on the 71st hole.

"I think I'm getting better at peaking and producing my very best golf in the right situations," Harrington said. "But definitely it is one extreme high that does take a lot of time, preparation to get into, and a lot of time to recover from."

Less than a month later, on a tricked-up Oakland Hills course, Harrington was in even more of a zone on Sunday. He concluded his rain-extended third round in the morning with 66 to climb into the next-to-last pairing with European rival Sergio Garcia.

When it became a three-horse race down the stretch with Garcia and Ben Curtis, Harrington closed it out with consecutive clutch putts on the final three holes, including a 15-footer for par at the last.

"Holing the putts on 16, 17 and 18, I think obviously this is a focus we've seen in other players," Harrington said. "You're close to unbeatable when you're in a zone like that. If I could bottle that, I believe I'd be so much better."

Harrington celebrates after sinking a putt for par on 18th hole to win the PGA Championship. (Associated Press)

Harrington, however, still struggles to see himself as one of the greats of the game despite his Tigerlike winning percentage in the recent majors. He considers his major wins -- all final-round rallies -- to have been less taxing than those where a player has to sleep on the lead and play the role of the hunted. He even called his PGA victory "a freebie."

He's not coming to Augusta with that mental state bottled and ready to uncork.

"I said after the PGA, in order for me to move to the next level, if that's the case, one of the things is to take some confidence winning three majors," he said. "Most of my life I've been motivated by fear. It was nice to be able to walk around and puff out my chest and say, 'I've arrived. I've won three majors and played better golf because of that confidence.'

"I've talked with (sports psychologist) Bob Rotella about this for a while, and it has not happened as of yet. As much as I would like it to happen, I still have my doubts whether it will."

There's no question that Harrington has instilled confidence in other European golfers by becoming the first European golfer to win consecutive majors in the modern era. That, he said, might turn out to be a more enduring legacy of his recent form than anything else.

"I'm European, and I've definitely opened the door for Europe," he said. "They understand and know my game more so than many others and can judge themselves against me a lot easier.

"They understand that they can beat me, and if they can beat me they can win a major. You're putting two and two together. It's no doubt what happened in the '80s with Seve winning majors, helping others see that was possible."

And if it happens?

"I think that I will lay claim to all the majors won by Europe for the next 10 years," Harrington said with a laugh.

Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219 or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com.