UP UNTIL Tuesday evening, Pádraig Harrington sported a beard. Not a wisp of stubble, a fully-fledged beard; by yesterday, it was gone. “It was annoying me,” remarked the Dubliner of the decision to take the razor to the irritating facial hair and dispatch it to history.
If only he could transform his European Tour’s season with such speed, for the three-time major champion heads into the season-ending tournament – despite a win last month in the Johor Open in Malaysia on the Asian Tour – still prowling and searching for the tour victory that would bring some substance to his year’s work.
Harrington – ranked 18th in the money list coming into the Dubai World Championship – isn’t here to make up the numbers. Far from it, and the fact he enters the season finale with no chance of topping the Order of Merit only adds to his determination.
While the likes of Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer and world number one Lee Westwood have been ambushed at every turn, Harrington has enjoyed a quieter time of things these past few days. It’s not what he would want, however.
“I would prefer to be the guy they are all talking about. I would love to be coming here with the chance of winning the Order of Merit. Not being wanted (for interviews, etc) makes my life easier, but I don’t want my life to be easy. If you didn’t want (the hassle), there’s no point of being out here. You want to be the centre of attention, the guy who has the chance of winning every week.
“If that was the case, you’d find a way of sabotaging your game. No, I would rather be up there. But it is what it is – if you have a good week, you are back on top of the world.”
Nevertheless, Harrington’s win in the Johor Open put an end to a barren spell on tour which stretched all the way back to the US PGA Championship win in August 2008 and he has arrived at the Earth course with one intention: to win!
“I want to win, big time. I’d like a win in my last two events to finish the year,” remarked Harirngton, who finishes his regular tour schedule here in Dubai before signing off for the year in the limited-field elite invitation event in Sun City next week.
Harrington has looked good over the last couple of days in preparing for the tournament, leading his team to a win in the pro-am on Tuesday.
“I’ve been feeling very good in practice all year. I’ve had a very disappointing year in terms of generally playing worse in tournaments than I have in practice.
“Generally, it’s the other way around. It is something I need to address and I am working on at the moment. But I feel very optimistic going forward,” he said.
As for now, Harrington – who finished fourth in this event last year – is looking to return to winning ways on his home tour.
“I find it a good, modern golf course. It is a big, long course, a big test with lots of pin positions. It is tough, and that’s what you need.”
