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Padraig Harrington seen differently by peers

While Padraig Harrington has vaulted into elite company by winning three of the last six majors, his greatest gain could well come from his enhanced standing in the eyes of his peers.

World number one Tiger Woods, a 14-times major champion, is renowned for the aura of invincibility he has so often enjoyed over his rivals and Harrington is banking on achieving something similar.

“I would hope they (my rivals) would worry about me a lot more now,” the Irish world number three told Reuters during last week’s Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines.

“I think they would certainly worry me about me more if I was coming down the stretch. They know that if I am there on the back nine, there is going to be a real battle.”

Harrington, who clinched his first major title at the 2007 British Open, took advantage of Woods’s absence through injury for the second half of last year by winning two more majors.

A successful defence of his British Open crown at Royal Birkdale, where he triumphed by four shots, was followed by a two-stroke victory in the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.

The workaholic Irishman ended 2008 by receiving the PGA Tour Player of the Year award, an accolade he said was comparable to landing a major championship.

“That was a very big deal for me,” Harrington added. “There’s nothing better than getting the vote of approval from your peers.

“I won two majors last year and I would easily put the Player of the Year award on the same level. There is no doubt in my mind that it’s right up there.”

Asked to assess how differently he was now viewed by his peers on tour, Harrington replied: “There is definitely a big change.

“Some of the younger players who I know will come and ask for advice and things like that. Certainly there is an element of that.”

Even some of his friends away from golf regard him in a new light.

“They sometimes ask me: ‘Do I realise what I have done?’ To be honest, you don’t when you are involved in it,” the 37-year-old Dubliner said.

“You just keep playing. Sometimes my friends will stop and try to get me to think about it but I kind of refuse and just keep going.”

Asked if he had been required to pay more than his fair share for meals when dining with friends, he said with a broad grin: “No, not all the time anyway.”

In his first two starts this year, Harrington tied for fifth in the European Tour’s Abu Dhabi Championship last month before sharing 24th place at the Buick Invitational on Sunday.

Renowned for his meticulous approach to the game, he says he still has a great deal to improve.

“It’s back to the same old things,” he added. “I wouldn’t say there are too many pluses from the end of last year. I’ve still got to do a bit more work.

“I always work on my weak spots, always, always. I go all out to try and improve every year, try to get the whole package together. I am obsessive about it, yes.

“The last couple of years I have struggled in the bunkers and I was only 166th in ball-striking last year. Then there’s driving accuracy and things like that. There’s a lot to improve, there always is.

“I am definitely still a work in progress. The day I stop working and the day I stop trying to improve is the day I will be retiring.”

February 10, 2009