Will Harrington ever win again?
When I look at the bets placed over the counter for
all the golfing majors and total up the liability cost of each player so I can
tell John to either book the holidays in Marbella or Connemara, the same golfer
stands out as the costliest danger to a caravan holiday in the hills every
summer.
Who would have thought after a mesmerizing final round at Oakland Hills Country Club in 2008, where Harrington defeated Sergio Garcia in the PGA Championship to claim his second major in a row and third overall, that he would not win another main European or US tour event. Only wins in smaller events like the Irish PGA, Asia tours’ Johor open and the exhibition event Grand Slam of Golf in 2012 (as an alternate!) are his only successes since.
At 42 he admits he no longer possesses that fear factor and is showing signs of contentment with his haul of three majors. Is he resting on his laurels now happy with the fact only Woods, Mickelson and himself have won more than two majors this century? His game these last few years has been about breaking down his swing, equipment changes, battling the yips and then doing a complete 180 on the long putter having been its fiercest critic. The irony is that right now he is playing better than ever tee to green butnow it’s around the greens that he is
leaking shots, a part of his game that was traditionally his strongest.
The average age of a major winner in the last 4 years is 34.75 with only Mickelson, Darren Clarke and Ángel Cabrera in Harrington’s age so can we really strike the biro through Padraig when he lines up in the majors? Golfers can come back from the abyss. In 2012 Henrik Stenson slipped to 230 in the world rankings but came back last season to be golfer of the year and is now third in the world. But for every Stenson there is a David Duval and Harrington’s recent interviews and inability to put four rounds together make the latter camp his likelier destination. Bookies should breathe easily as he’s 20/1 to win any major this season.
Who would have thought after a mesmerizing final round at Oakland Hills Country Club in 2008, where Harrington defeated Sergio Garcia in the PGA Championship to claim his second major in a row and third overall, that he would not win another main European or US tour event. Only wins in smaller events like the Irish PGA, Asia tours’ Johor open and the exhibition event Grand Slam of Golf in 2012 (as an alternate!) are his only successes since.
At 42 he admits he no longer possesses that fear factor and is showing signs of contentment with his haul of three majors. Is he resting on his laurels now happy with the fact only Woods, Mickelson and himself have won more than two majors this century? His game these last few years has been about breaking down his swing, equipment changes, battling the yips and then doing a complete 180 on the long putter having been its fiercest critic. The irony is that right now he is playing better than ever tee to green but
The average age of a major winner in the last 4 years is 34.75 with only Mickelson, Darren Clarke and Ángel Cabrera in Harrington’s age so can we really strike the biro through Padraig when he lines up in the majors? Golfers can come back from the abyss. In 2012 Henrik Stenson slipped to 230 in the world rankings but came back last season to be golfer of the year and is now third in the world. But for every Stenson there is a David Duval and Harrington’s recent interviews and inability to put four rounds together make the latter camp his likelier destination. Bookies should breathe easily as he’s 20/1 to win any major this season.
Abu Dhabi
John Mulholland is paying six places and another golfer I’ll be backing to bounce back from the doldrums in 2014 is Martin Kaymer at 14/1
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