Easily identified by his Wilson Staff hat, thick Irish accent, and wide putting stance, Padraig Harrington has grabbed his piece of the golf pie. Many of you will remember one of Harrington’s defining moments: the 65-foot eagle putt he holed on the final hole to beat Jim Furyk by a stroke at the 2005 Barclays Classic. It was one of the best moments in 2005 even though Furyk didn’t appreciate it. “There’s no consolation,” Furyk said. “Finishing second really stinks!”
Stats
Following a two-win season in 2005 to become the first PGA Tour winner from the Republic of Ireland, Harrington has slipped into the top-10 three times in 2006. His $1,194,175 in earnings has him in 38th place on the money list.
He has turned his tee and fairway game around since his early professional years. He has an excellent short game, which we all know is very important. He is 55th this year in Driving Distance (293.4 yards), and hits the fairway 68.0% of the time.
Other stats of note are Greens in Regulation (19th), Putting Average (1.755 putts per hole, 24th), and Birdie Average (3.89 birdies per round, 11th). He began 2005 ranked sixth in the world just outside the so-called “Big Five.” As a bit of an aside, here’s a comparison of the top 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking:
January 2005 July 2006 1. Vijay Singh Tiger Woods 2. Tiger Woods Phil Mickelson 3. Ernie Els Vijay Singh 4. Retief Goosen Retief Goosen 5. Phil Mickelson Jim Furyk 6. Padraig Harrington Adam Scott 7. Davis Love III Geoff Ogilvy 8. Mike Weir Ernie Els 9. Sergio Garcia Sergio Garcia 10. Stewart Cink David Howell
Harrington has the temperament to be a consistent top-10 player but he’ll need to close out some more tourneys and the occasional major event to do it.
Hard Work and Adversity
By some accounts, Harrington is one of the world’s hardest working players, spending countless hours on the range preparing for tournaments and honing his swing.
His overall success has come as a bit of a surprise to him. “I thought I’d do well to be a journeyman pro and make a semi-decent living,” said Harrington. He never expected to reach his current level perhaps thinking he’d have to fall back on his financial training for a future vocation.
After playing poorly at the 1997 U.S. Open at Congressional, he hired swing coach Bob Torrence and started creating a more repeatable swing. Torrence began to deal with some of his swing issues and it wasn’t long before his teaching started working. Harrington was altogether too handsy in his early days and worked hard on coiling around his body for accuracy and greater distance.
The death of his father was Harrington’s biggest adversity last year. His father, Paddy Harrington, was a police officer. Padraig missed the British Open because of the loss.
2006 U.S. Open
Three pars on the final three holes would have won it for Harrington, but unfortunately Winged Foot got the better of him like it did a lot of others.
Yeah, I’m very disappointed obviously. You know, three pars to win the Open. It probably doesn’t get any easier than that. It sounds very easy anyway. You know, I hit three good tee shots, got it in play. You know, that’s the way it goes.
He fell short of saying, “I’m an idiot,” in Phil Mickelson fashion opting for, “As I said, I certainly ruined this one.” Had Harrington parred the final two holes he would have been in a playoff with eventual winner Geoff Ogilvy.
Someone asked him if he could take any consolation in the fact that Mickelson and Montgomery also had trouble down the stretch. “No,” was his initial response. “I was never happy with my game, and it just caught me out a little bit at the end.”
What’s more, many have forgotten about the trouble Harrington had with the 18th hole in the third round. He drove it into the rough, hit his second fifteen yards, put his third into the bunker, and 3-putted after his sand shot for a triple-bogey 7.
Ouch. It’s sad to see professionals play like me.
He admitted afterward at a pre-tournament interview at the Booz Allen Classic that he was mentally, emotionally, and physically spent.
The Future
Other players on Tour have noticed Harrington’s skills. “I think he’s the real deal,” said Mark O’Meara in 2003. “He doesn’t seem afraid to take anyone on, even Tiger. He’s a big boy, he hits the ball a long way and he putts well. Over the last three years, I’d say he has improved more than any other player in the world.”
The future looks very bright for Harrington. I think his U.S. Open disappointment will only make him stronger. Having never sat down with him eye-to-eye for a conversation I can’t really know but he seems like an extremely genuine individual. His comments to the press lead me to believe that what you see is what you get.
Harrington has a couple of major victories in him. Given his steady play I can see him grabbing a U.S. Open before his 40 birthday. Whatever happens he’s been very successful to date and seems a class individual.
Photo Credit: © AP Photo, © Unknown.
