PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Even in the midst of a drought so long it looked as though Padraig Harrington’s best golf was behind him, he never stopped working.

Harrington won the rain-delayed Honda Classic in a playoff Monday with a 5-iron that settled 3 feet away on the par-3 17th, a shot that put so much pressure on Daniel Berger that the 21-year-old rookie got a little out of rhythm and hit into the water.

There were other key moments in a final round filled with a series of splashes.

Ian Poulter, staked to a three-shot lead in a final round that took two days to complete, hit five balls in the water on four holes that cost him six shots. He finished one shot out of the playoff. Patrick Reed was tied for the lead until he found the water on the 15th hole, and then bogeyed the next two holes.

Not even Harrington was immune. With a one-shot lead, he badly missed his 5-iron on the 17th hole in regulation, went into the water right of the green and made a double bogey to fall one shot behind. Then, the 43-year-old Irishman made a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole for an even-par 70 to force a playoff with Berger, who started the final round nine shots behind and closed with two birdies for a 6-under 64.

It was hard to keep track of who was coming and going until Harrington posed with the crystal trophy.

Lost in all those theatrics were two moments away from the action.

A week ago, Harrington shot a 76 in the third round at Riviera to fall deep out of contention.

“It was an early start, everybody was tired and I heard a couple of players say, `I’m finishing for the day and I’m not going to practice,”’ Harrington said. “I really wanted to leave. I said, `No, I’ll go down to the range.’ And I found something down there. Again, nothing to do with my technique. I found something to do with my focus, and I got a little bit of peace. And probably for 50 percent of the time this week, I had peace out on the golf course.

“I definitely was in a better place.”