Padraig Harrington.....2015 Honda Classic Champion

ssbob

mike12 wrote: »

Two links tourneys before the Open looks like good prep. Think he is close to a win.
mike

Think this says it all, links golf is his calling, I reckon he is in great shape to take one of these titles.

As for the Travellers, I have a feeling he will miss the cut due to tiredness.

Jazzzman

His chip-in was great to see. I can't recall too many moments like that for him lately.

Excellent result for him.

newport2

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Delighted for him. I thought he was goosed mentally.

Should do wonders for him mentally. Very different to Masters. He can only really take away positives this week.

Thank God +2 didn't win or make play-off, otherwise he'd be beating himself up about going for the flag on the 18th.

newport2

ssbob wrote: »

Think this says it all, links golf is his calling, I reckon he is in great shape to take one of these titles.

As for the Travellers, I have a feeling he will miss the cut due to tiredness.

Quote from his site would suggest you're right

"This is the second straight Major that Padraig has entered the back nine with a chance and he looks to be back to the force of old! He now returns to Europe for the Scottish and Irish Opens in preparation for a tilt at a third Open title."

MP62

He's a dead cert for the open, lamp all your loots on now.

MungoMan

i disagree with Supernova that he is doubting himself.
2 top 10 finishes in the first two majors of the year, that's not the kind of form that would make someone doubt themselves.

He was right to be aggressive on the last hole, similar to the 17th hole in 2008 in the open championship. This time it didnt work out. Even if he had played the hole conservatively, he still might have got a bogey.

I'm sure he'll leave this tournament with a load of confidence.

abff

newport2 wrote: »

Quote from his site would suggest you're right

"This is the second straight Major that Padraig has entered the back nine with a chance and he looks to be back to the force of old! He now returns to Europe for the Scottish and Irish Opens in preparation for a tilt at a third Open title."

He's still appearing on the list of entries for the Travellers next weekend. Maybe they just haven't updated it.

Seves Three Iron

Surprised nobody has mentioned this. Harri stated in his post round official press interview that he was actually trying to hole his approach on the 18th. Very strange decision in the circumstances. I know he needed at least a birdie etc, etc but, realistically, you're not going to pull that shot off, given the lie and the proximity of the hole. Here is his interview which he gave while play was still going outside;

PH: "But there's chances there, that's why I don't think with the number of guys coming home I think somebody's going to be able to get through those last couple of holes in 1 or 2‑under par. So you got to think that's 1‑under or level par is going to be the winning score. I was hoping to hole my wedge on the last, but not to be."

As far as I can tell, it wasn't a throwaway remark either because a reporter out there mentioned it also.

Martin567

Seves Three Iron wrote: »

Surprised nobody has mentioned this. Harri stated in his post round official press interview that he was actually trying to hole his approach on the 18th. Very strange decision in the circumstances. I know he needed at least a birdie etc, etc but, realistically, you're not going to pull that shot off, given the lie and the proximity of the hole. Here is his interview which he gave while play was still going outside;

PH: "But there's chances there, that's why I don't think with the number of guys coming home I think somebody's going to be able to get through those last couple of holes in 1 or 2‑under par. So you got to think that's 1‑under or level par is going to be the winning score. I was hoping to hole my wedge on the last, but not to be."

As far as I can tell, it wasn't a throwaway remark either because a reporter out there mentioned it also.

To be honest, I think that shows a single-minded attitude towards victory that very few players possess. I know many will think it foolish as he could easily have played conservatively and made a safe par. Doing what he did meant he ended up worse off than if he had played safely but he seems to be the sort of guy who always tries to win even if the odds are completely against him. I'd say he would have more regrets about not trying it than trying and failing.

Tones69

Same as rory last week, he could have chipped it close on 18 and made sure of the bogey at worst but instead really pushed the chip for par and ended up with double, these guys dont care about 2nd and 3rd, they want the win and dont mind sacrificing 10 places if it means they MIGHT have had a slight chance at the win. 2 ways of looking a it really

MP62

Tones69 wrote: »

Same as rory last week, he could have chipped it close on 18 and made sure of the bogey at worst but instead really pushed the chip for par and ended up with double, these guys dont care about 2nd and 3rd, they want the win and dont mind sacrificing 10 places if it means they MIGHT have had a slight chance at the win. 2 ways of looking a it really

Are you talking about Padraig?, because he didn't double the last.
I'd say also he'd be the first to admit he got a bit quick with the approach, which resulted in the pull, same as the approch on the 17th.

Tones69

MP62 wrote: »

Are you talking about Padraig?, because he didn't double the last.
I'd say also he'd be the first to admit he got a bit quick with the approach, which resulted in the pull, same as the approch on the 17th.

No no i know he didnt double the last, im talking about the mindset they have more so than the score

Seves Three Iron

Wouldn't dispute the single mindedness of Harri, 'operating at a different level' claims etc etc. But even for him surely there's a point where pragmatism outweighs blind hope? If he'd got a birdie he would have made a play-off. And McDowell showed a birdie was quite possible.

Now I know Harri was operating off a different thought process, thinking even or minus one would win. But, on that point alone, it was hard to ever see minus one winning, or level par for that matter given how things were going.

I know that opinions are like arseholes, everyone having one and all of that, but I just think it was a crazy decision if he was genuinely playing a shot to nothing and disregarding the consequences on the hope of holing it out.

MP62

Seves Three Iron wrote: »

Wouldn't dispute the single mindedness of Harri, 'operating at a different level' claims etc etc. But even for him surely there's a point where pragmatism outweighs blind hope? If he'd got a birdie he would have made a play-off. And McDowell showed a birdie was quite possible.

Now I know Harri was operating off a different thought process, thinking even or minus one would win. But, on that point alone, it was hard to ever see minus one winning, or level par for that matter given how things were going.

I know that opinions are like arseholes, everyone having one and all of that, but I just think it was a crazy decision if he was genuinely playing a shot to nothing and disregarding the consequences on the hope of holing it out.

I think you might be confusing the words "hoping" and "trying".

irish bloke

TheKeenMachine wrote: »

I'd bet my left nut Padraig will win a major this year.

Why the left???

Seves Three Iron

"I think you might be confusing the words "hoping" and "trying"."


Fair enough if you can guarantee that but, as I said earlier, 'trying' was also how a reporter out there interpreted the quote in his report.

Greg Allen ‏gregallenRTE
Had to detour to the recorders hut to interview Harrington.Said he was trying to hole the wedge on 18 but the side hill lie made it v tough.

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MP62

Seves Three Iron wrote: »

"I think you might be confusing the words "hoping" and "trying"."


Fair enough if you can guarantee that but, as I said earlier, 'trying' was also how a reporter out there interpreted the quote in his report.

Greg Allen ‏gregallenRTE
Had to detour to the recorders hut to interview Harrington.Said he was trying to hole the wedge on 18 but the side hill lie made it v tough.

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Interesting, I suppose it makes a nice sound bite, anyway you gotta love the way the man always bounce's back and finds form when almost everyone has written him off.
I'm a long time fan and have come to expect the unexpected from him, really looking forward to the the Irish and British opens now.

stockdam

He made an interesting comment yesterday after his round.

He says he enjoys the majors more as it's more of a marathon than a sprint.

What he meant was that for most US events it is a birdie sprint and if you aren't 4 under after 9 holes then you aren't in contention. The majors are setup for difficulty and for patience.

The majors require discipline and at times damage limitation.......a lot of US events are more target golf........boom it off the tee and fire it straight at the flag.

soundsham

The difference tied 2nd and tied 4th (where Harrington finished) was $419,000. Pin hunting bogey on 18 cost a lot of Ryder Cup points.

6 pros made birdie there out of approx 70 and most were under no pressure playing it
I don't remember many of the final 10-16 having good opportunities never mind converting
It's brain farts like that cause double bogeys and snowmen (often when in contention).... Of which he's had plenty leading to his cascading down the rankings unfortunately
Whats wrong with hitting to the middle of the green and trying to hole a 20ft putt like GMac
Possibly in a few months time when he misses a WGC or Ryder Cup or doesnt qualify for some Major, he might revisit his train of thought

MP62

soundsham wrote: »

The difference tied 2nd and tied 4th (where Harrington finished) was $419,000. Pin hunting bogey on 18 cost a lot of Ryder Cup points.

6 pros made birdie there out of approx 70 and most were under no pressure playing it
I don't remember many of the final 10-16 having good opportunities never mind converting
It's brain farts like that cause double bogeys and snowmen (often when in contention).... Of which he's had plenty leading to his cascading down the rankings unfortunately
Whats wrong with hitting to the middle of the green and trying to hole a 20ft putt like GMac
Possibly in a few months time when he misses a WGC or Ryder Cup or doesnt qualify for some Major, he might revisit his train of thought

To be fair, the money is irrelevant, as is the Ryder cup and one cant really believe that any pro is thinking about the Ryder cup when playing the 18th in any tour event, let alone a major.
He was going for the win and possibly tried abit too hard and played a bad shot, is that really so hard to comprehend.

soundsham

The hard part to comprehend is how often he blows it coming down the the last 18 holes in ordinary weekly events causing his decline shooting over par on par 5's when others are collecting shots

I accept majors are different he didn't do that last night but if his excuse was he was trying to hole his 2nd someone would want to slap his face and drive a boot into his caddys backside

fullstop

soundsham wrote: »

The hard part to comprehend is how often he blows it coming down the the last 18 holes in ordinary weekly events causing his decline shooting over par on par 5's when others are collecting shots

I accept majors are different he didn't do that last night but if his excuse was he was trying to hole his 2nd someone would want to slap his face and drive a boot into his caddys backside

You haven't a clue tbh. PH has won 3 majors and millions and millions of €€ on tour. He didn't care about 2nd place, he wanted the win and (rightly) thought he needed to get to at least +1. As you said yourself, there were only 6 or 7 birdies on 18 yesterday, which for a very short hole is incredible. The reason? A tiny, elevated, massively sloping green. He knew his only realistic chance of birdie was getting the 2nd close and he went for it...it didn't come off, tough titty.But at least he went for it.

Also your point re GMac playing for the middle of the green, he had no choice from a **** lie in the first cut. He couldn't get the spin on the ball to go at the flag.

MP62

soundsham wrote: »

The hard part to comprehend is how often he blows it coming down the the last 18 holes in ordinary weekly events causing his decline shooting over par on par 5's when others are collecting shots

I accept majors are different he didn't do that last night but if his excuse was he was trying to hole his 2nd someone would want to slap his face and drive a boot into his caddys backside

I think that quote was abit tongue in cheek or at least taken out of content, also you have to lose way more than you win and I see it as a huge "plus" that he's putting himself in contention again, also re: the par 5's, as long as I remember he has under performed on par 5's considering he comfortably has the lenght, but when he manages these well, then he's usually in contention.
It's hugely fustrating to watch, but that's Harrington and I can only imagine what it's like for himself.

PhilipMarlowe

Looking at it with hindsight isn't a fair process really. Remember he was equal the clubhouse lead thru 17 but there were several guys in contention - I think the leaders were playing the 12th at the same time? Paddy had played the back 8 in -2 so the thought process had to be to push because of the likely hood of any of a few of those coming behind him improving on the posted score.
It's similar to Winged Foot in '06 and Muirfied in '02 in ways - pushing for victory when the leaders ultimately came back to field. Ultimately this time he was to need the closing birdie but he obviously (and thankfully) can handle the regrets of trying and failing better than those of settling...

soundsham

Only for Simpsons fantastic chip there would have been a playoff minus Paddy

he was after hitting a shocker into 18,anyone putting for birdie there were right to the flag all day do you think the commentators were making this up

fullstop

soundsham wrote: »

Only for Simpsons fantastic chip there would have been a playoff minus Paddy

he was after hitting a shocker into 18,anyone putting for birdie there were right to the flag all day do you think the commentators were making this up

Only for the putts Simpson missed on 15 and 17 he would have won by 3 :rolleyes:

And I had no idea that only people to the right of the flag were putting for birdie given the flag was 3 yards on from the left, thanks for that.

MP62

soundsham wrote: »

Only for Simpsons fantastic chip there would have been a playoff minus Paddy

he was after hitting a shocker into 18,anyone putting for birdie there were right to the flag all day do you think the commentators were making this up

He went for the win and it didn't work out this time, it's amazing how some people can't get their heads around that, and think that playing defensively and hoping for the best (ala Jim Furyk) is the way to go.

stockdam

MP62 wrote: »

He went for the win and it didn't work out this time, it's amazing how some people can't get their heads around that, and think that playing defensively and hoping for the best (ala Jim Furyk) is the way to go.

Yes it's a better policy to go for the win and risk dropping several places if you have enough wins under your belt. The difference between first and 2nd is usually lots more than 2nd and 4th etc. Trophies are what these guys are after.

newport2

Never ceases to amaze me how some amateur golfers on blogs appear to think they have a superior knowledge about golfing strategy and tactics than multiple major winners.

TheKeenMachine

irish bloke wrote: »

Why the left???

Because I already bet the right on him winning the 2009 USPGA!