ESPN 2008 Open Championship

By virtue of his second British Open title in as many years, Padraig Harrington leaped over the likes of Adam Scott, Ernie Els and Sergio Garcia in the latest world rankings.

The first European to win back-to-back Open Championships in more than a century now holds third place behind Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

But does the 36-year-old Irishman deserve his new place in the world rankings? Or is it just a quirk in a complicated mathematical formula?

Our experts give their takes in this week's edition of Fact or Fiction.

FACT OR FICTION? Padraig Harrington is the third-best player in the world.

The Official World Golf Ranking sometimes leaves you scratching your head. How is Phil Mickelson, for example, ranked second when he's done so little in the major championships this year? Or how is Adam Scott, who has yet to seriously contend in a major championship, ranked fourth?

Those, perhaps, are arguments for another day, but if it seems surprising that Padraig Harrington has now leaped to No. 3 after his Open Championship victory at Royal Birkdale, perhaps a closer look at his record is in order.

Other than Tiger Woods, who is still miles out in front despite season-ending knee surgery, which player has won multiple major championships in the past three years? Harrington, who began the Open Championship ranked 14th in the world. Starting with the 2006 Masters, which Mickelson won, the only players who have more than one major title are Woods (four) and Harrington (two).

Throw in a top-five finish at this year's Masters, three other top-fives on the PGA Tour and another on the European Tour, and you can see why Harrington is now right behind Woods and Mickelson.

Perhaps a better way to look at it is this: Who would you put there?

I'm not really sure how to define "best" in this situation. Best at closing out a major championship? Then, yes, he's No. 3. But if we take "best" to mean most talented, I think Harrington falls short of a few others.

Look, I know neither Sergio Garcia nor Adam Scott has won a major, but if we're basing this on the eyeball test, each has a better overall game than the two-time defending Open champion. Same goes for Ernie Els and maybe Jim Furyk, although his plodding, grinding style is quite similar to that of Harrington.

Don't believe me? OK, ask Paddy.

"I got to sixth in the world before and wasn't comfortable there," he said after Sunday's win. "Just kind of, 'Ooh, I'm sixth in the world and it's not good enough.' If I do get to third, certainly I will question that."

Well, he's there. Even when Harrington is on his game, the stats say he's not the "best" at anything; at Royal Birkdale, he ranked T-45 in driving distance, T-35 in driving accuracy, T-30 in greens in regulation and T-7 in putting.

And you know what? He couldn't care less because the Claret Jug once again is sitting on his kitchen table. That's the "best" feeling of all.

If you don't think Padraig Harrington is the third-best player in the world, just wait a few weeks. Like New England's weather, the world rankings are fickle at best.

Change, especially among players ranked No. 3 and below, occurs with regularity. Since the last week in February, the third spot on the ranking has been filled by Steve Stricker, Ernie Els, Adam Scott, Els again, Scott again, Geoff Ogilvy and now Harrington.

It looks as if Harrington has some breathing room, so it's likely he won't fall off until, say, August. With 6.367 points, the Irishman is 2.318 points behind Phil Mickelson for second place.

Miguel Angel Jimenez, ranked 20th, is 2.398 points behind Harrington. That's how close the ranking is. The 100 points Jimenez would get if he were to win the PGA Championship -- coupled with the loss of a few points by Harrington -- would be enough to move the Spaniard to third.

The reality is that Harrington is as good a choice as any to trail Tiger Woods and Mickelson. In fact, with two major championships in 53 weeks, I'm not too sure Paddy isn't the second-best golfer in the world.

One of the questions left hanging by Tiger Woods' rehab from knee surgery was who would use the opportunity of his absence to enhance his standing in the game. We got the answer at Royal Birkdale. Woods is No. 1 in the world by several miles. And it would be difficult to argue that anyone other than Phil Mickelson is No. 2.

The question going into the Open Championship was the identity of No. 3. Make no mistake about it now, it's Harrington.

Look at his résumé: He has won 11 tour events in Europe, two on the PGA Tour and one in Japan. He also has won the British Open twice in 53 weeks. Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey and Luke Donald are teammates of Harrington on the European Ryder Cup team, and they have a combined zero majors.

Harrington already has as many majors as Greg Norman, and one more would tie him with Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh.

The guy is clearly the third-best player in the world.