A shiny silver US Seniors Open trophy – and a gold medal too – have become the latest accessories to Pádraig Harrington’s already loaded cabinet, or perhaps his kitchen table where the Claret Jug has held centre stage, and this latest career win, and first senior major, provides proof that the Dubliner is still very much a diehard competitor.
And, in a case of perfect timing, Harrington’s success in the US Seniors Open brings him to the Horizon Irish Open at Mount Juliet, starting on Thursday, with momentum to remind all the young bucks that the old-timer still has game.
Harrington had that old stare back on his game face as he closed the deal down the stretch at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Having started the final round with a five stroke lead and extending it to six as he made the turn, Harrington was forced to show his mettle coming home to fire a 72 for a total of 10-under-par 274, a shot clear of Steve Stricker who’d charged home with a closing 65.
As Harrington negotiated that homeward journey, the roars which greeted Stricker’s birdie run let him know he would have to win the hard way. And a finishing run of birdie-par-par-par over the final four holes showed he had lost none of his mental fortitude.
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“Having a five-shot lead is great, but golf is not like that. It always comes down to the last couple of holes and definitely makes for a tension-filled day. I had a five-shot lead and, with that, you play very defensive. I didn’t enjoy having to hit that three-foot putt to win the tournament but that’s what you have to do,” said Harrington.
“There’s a lot of pressure on this type of style of golf course when you’re leading. You don’t want to make a mistake. Any time you’re more than 20 feet away from the hole you’re in trouble in some ways. So it was definitely a tension-filled day.
“When it got very tight, my caddie [Ronan Flood] just kept reminding me that, if we were told we were going to be in this position on Sunday when we arrived here, a week in advance, if we were told we were going to be with a one-shot lead, we’d be very happy. I had to take it as an opportunity the last couple of holes.”.
The win – in a major at that – gave Harrington a first success on the Champions Tour, having already finished runner-up twice in regular tournaments this season.
“When you come to the Champions Tour, it’s to win tournaments and win the big tournaments, try and win the majors . . . . the USGA set up a fabulous course, much tougher than I had expected, and I knew that would play into my hands,” he added.
Harrington’s success – a first win since the 2016 Portugal Masters – brought him the distinction of winning professional tournaments in four different decades, going back to his maiden success in the Spanish Open in 1996.
The US Seniors Open win earned Harrington a payday of $720,000 and moved him to third on the Charles Schwab season order of merit.
Harrington’s next outing on the Champions Tour will be the British Senior Open at Gleneagles next month, but before that he has some work to do against younger guns; he is competing in the Irish Open at Mount Juliet and will be in the field for the 150th Open at St Andrews in a fortnight’s time.
Séamus Power also made the transatlantic crossing back for the Irish Open, in his case after a tied-25th place finish in the Travelers championship.
Power, enjoying a strong PGA Tour season which has him currently 23rd in the FedEx Cup standings, is back in Europe for a run that takes in the Irish Open, next week’s two-day JP McManus Pro-Am and then a debut appearance in the 150th Open at St Andrews.
The final two sponsor’s invitations for the Irish Open were confirmed Monday, with John Murphy and Paul Dunne getting the prized exemptions into the field for a tournament which has a significantly increased prize fund of €5.65 million.
