Padraig Harrington is always happy to explain. There is no question, or suggestion or cushioned criticism at which he will take offence. Some of his peers on tour are prepared to condense their thoughts into the 140 characters available on Twitter but in this regard Harrington doesn’t have a short game. Every answer is a full shot.
And there’s always something. He accepts that. Before he was a three-time major winner people wondered why he finished second so often and couldn’t win a Major. Now that he’s a three-time major winner people wonder why his fourth major looks further away than ever. His only win since the US PGA in 2008 was a in a minor Asian tour event last November when he staggered over the line like a rookie who was learning how to win on the hoof.
For a player of his status in the world game it was an unbecoming look. But what exactly is his status now? In the world rankings he has fallen out of the top 30 and the most generous assessment of his chances at the Masters this week is that he is a dark horse. He has played his best golf of the season to get into contention at the Shell Houston Open over the last three days but he was in a similar position on the weekend of the same event 12 months ago and followed it up by missing the cut at Augusta.
It will be interesting to see how he fares this evening too. He didn’t play well on the final day at Houston last year and weak Sunday rounds became a debilitating pattern in his season: “Last year was strange,” he says, “in that I played better on a Wednesday than I did on a Thursday and Friday and if I played well on a Thursday and Friday I didn’t play well on the weekend. It was the opposite of what I’ve always done in the past. In 2008 I improved my position on Sunday in every event that I played, certainly in the US. Last year, in 2010, I disimproved [sic] every Sunday.”
Without playing well on Sunday how can he hope to win? How can his confidence hope to survive? Is he not tormented by doubt? Not the way he tells it. “What most people see as confidence is fleeting. It comes and goes. You see fellas win one week and look like world-beaters and the following week they miss the cut. They depend on how they feel about their game rather than how about themselves.
Advertisement
“Self-confidence is the most important thing and I have plenty of that. That’s the only thing that lasts in this game. I would be far more confident now than I was after the PGA [in 2008]. What’s the difference? Being in control of my game. If I hit a bad shot I know physically why I hit the bad shot and I know mentally. There’s a peace of mind to understanding it.”
For Harrington, it has always been about the process. During the off-season he made another 16 adjustments to his game. He wasn’t obliged to declare those changes publicly and he must have known how it would be received. For the last couple of years commentators and fans have looked on, bewildered, at his constant tweaking, searching for something that he already seemed to have. Why would you meddle with a swing that won three Majors?
In Harrington’s mind, though, he had no choice. It wasn’t even a debate. “There’s no point in trying to stand still. There’s no point in trying to hold on to what you had because you don’t know what you had — if you know what I mean. It’s not something that’s tangible enough to go out the following week and keep it. That’s not the way golf goes. Just to stand still you’ve got to improve.
“Since I’ve won the Majors what I’ve done is an absolute necessity for me. If I didn’t do what I’ve done over the last two years I would be burned out. I would have no interest. Every day I hit that practice ground I get excited that today might be the day I find the secret.
“I saw Arnold Palmer when he was 70 giving an interview and he was gushing on camera about how he had just found the secret. I looked at him and said, ‘I could be that soldier some day’ — at 70 thinking I’m going to find the secret.”
Advertisement
In his back story Harrington has a couple of top-five finishes at the Masters without ever really threatening to win. There was one year when he was hanging around on the back nine and his challenge essentially hinged on a four-iron approach to the 15th green; he needed an eagle and, in the air, the ball seemed to be all over the pin. Then it was kidnapped by a gust of wind and Harrington’s ball finished in the greenside water.
He wasn’t a major winner back then. Now that he is it must count for something? “I understand that I’m capable of winning without getting all the breaks. There’s a lot for me to draw on.
“You’re coming down the back nine in Augusta and there might be six guys in contention. You’ve got to figure out why you’re the guy that’s going to win. Whatever that reason is, in your head you’ve got to convince yourself that today is the day.”
Putting himself in that position again will be a leap of faith.
Advertisement
Ireland’s Masters
Padraig Harrington US Masters form 2000 Tied 19th 2001 Tied 27th 2002 Tied 5th 2003 Missed cut 2004 Tied 13th 2005 Missed cut 2006 Tied 27th 2007 Tied 7th 2008 Tied 5th 2009 Tied 35th 2010 Missed cut 2011 Form Cuts made 3/5 Top 10 finishes: Tied 10th, WGC Cadillac Championship
Graeme McDowell US Masters form 2005 Missed cut 2009 Tied 17th 2010 Missed cut 2011 Form Cuts made 1/2 Top 10 finishes: 3rd, Tournament of Champions; Tied 6th, Honda Classic
Rory McIlroy US Masters form 2009 Tied 20th 2010 Missed cut 2011 Form Cuts made 2/2 Top 10 finishes: 2nd, Abu Dhabi Championship; Tied 10th, Dubai Desert Classic; Tied 10th, WGC Cadillac Championship