Padraig Harrington.....2015 Honda Classic Champion

madds

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

PH explained in his post round interview why his approach to 18 ended up so wide. He was struggling with his wedges all week, some were moving as much as 10 yards left to right (i.e. he couldn't hit them straight), so in an effort to compensate and get his approach as close as possible to the pin cut close to the LH bunker he decided to play it further left than normal and ended up hitting it straight. He went for it but came up a whisker short.

I for one really enjoyed the fighting qualities he displayed and it was great to see the teeth bared in steely determination again. He seems to be hitting a lot more fairways now...if only he could sort his putting out. He 4-putted twice in the first round.

Seves Three Iron

newport2 wrote: »

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.

He did bogey the hole. Perhaps there were better ways to play it.

abouttobebanned

Seves Three Iron wrote: »

He did bogey the hole. Perhaps there were better ways to play it.

:rolleyes: (And I hate that smiley)

He probably thought to himself, "may as wellbe hung for a sheep as a lamb".

He had nothing really to lose by trying the near-impossible...and if it came off it would surely be the most famous US Open shot ever. When moments like this come along, you'll always regret playing safe fora par when deep down you know that won't be good enough.

His stocks went up for me after Sunday's round.

abff

I know it sounds like a lot of people on this thread are having a go at Padraig, but I think the majority of the adverse comments (with a few dishonourable exceptions) are made by genuine fans who really want to see him doing well and are frustrated when he appears to shoot himself in the foot.

I for one am torn between admiration for the ambition he showed in attempting to made birdie on the 18th and frustration at the outcome and the impact that this may have on his Ryder Cup ambitions.

Was it brave or was it foolhardy? Probably a bit of both. If it had worked out, we'd all be applauding his bravery. Unfortunately, it didn't.

Was it worth the risk? As amateur golfers who will never come close to achieving even a tiny fraction of what Padraig has achieved in golf, I don't think we're in a position to pass judgement on this.

Either way, it's great to see him back in contention again and I hope he kicks on from this and gets back in the winners circle where he belongs. If he can keep playing as well as he did last weekend and at the masters, then he must have a great chance of contending in The Open.

PGF

abff wrote: »

I for one am torn between admiration for the ambition he showed in attempting to made birdie on the 18th and frustration at the outcome and the impact that this may have on his Ryder Cup ambitions.

I doubt he was thinking about the Ryder Cup on the 18th fairway. Been there, done that. Even if he hadn't played in the Ryder Cup before the US open is far more prestigious/important...

abff

PGF wrote: »

I doubt he was thinking about the Ryder Cup on the 18th fairway. Been there, done that. Even if he hadn't played in the Ryder Cup before the US open is far more prestigious/important...

I agree. The Ryder Cup was probably the last thing on his mind. I'm just expressing how I felt about the outcome.

newport2

Seves Three Iron wrote: »

He did bogey the hole. Perhaps there were better ways to play it.

Depends what your objective is. You stated in a previous post that pragmatism should have come into play and he should have considered his place in the tournament. That's a different objective to his, hence a different way to play the hole if that's your priority.

Of course he wasn't banking on holing it. He was trying to hit it stiff, when any pro does that they are usually focused on holing the shot, while not really expecting to. Tongue in cheek to reporter. He had anticipated correctly that he needed a birdie or better to have a chance. As stated above, the birdie rate on this hole was 6 or 7 for the day as a result of players playing it sensibly. So 10% chance? Perhaps he figured he had a 25% chance of a birdie if he went straight for the pin. Risky, but a better chance of winning the tournament which is all he was interested in.

As abff said above, if he had pulled off the shot which was quite possible and holed a short putt for a birdie, getting into the playoff, the people on here critisising his strategy would be now lauding that same strategy saying what a great decision it was. The same situation, the same decision that they are now saying was stupid. The benefit of hindsight to the armchair golfer and commentators is just great.

Similar situation in the 2008 PGA, I remember him saying afterwards that he threw caution to the wind and starting drilling his putts in the last five or so holes, without contemplating the 7 or 8 footer he was going to leave back. So if he'd missed one of those putts and three-putted, then what a stupid strategy that was according to the armchair golfers afterwards. But he didn't, so the same decision in the same situation was lauded.

Rant over and I didn't mean it directed at you Seve's Three Iron, so I apologise if it reads like that.

Seves Three Iron

Ah sure look we're all entitled to call it as we see it, no hassles. Obviously it's easier to side with Padraig and agree that what he did was right in the circumstances. He is the expert as you say. I just don't agree with him. But sure nobody died! (Hope that doesn't warrant another of those kids smily badge things!)

Be interesting to see how he follows up the US Open now. It was interesting to hear him say he wasn't massively happy with his game overall last week, bit like the USPGA where he kind of won it in spite of himself. Hope he embraces the confidence now and delivers for the rest of the summer.

newport2

Fair enough Seve.

But if the shot had come off and he had hit it stiff and got into the play-off, I don't think you would be saying now that you disagreed with the same decision. If that's true, you're basing that judgement on hindsight. I'm basing my view of what he did on what the case was when he stood in the centre of the fairway and nobody knew the outcome, ie when the decision was made.

Sure with hindsight I wish he had gone for the centre of the green, parred the hole and come tied second. He might have got back into the WGC with that finish. Or maybe because he only missed out by one shot I'd be thinking he should have gone for the flag.....

Milkers

My only "criticism" of Harrington's thought process on 18 would not be that he went for birdie instead of par, but did he really choose the shot that was most likely to yield a birdie? I would argue no. And could people retorting with "you think you know better than a 3-time major winner" bear in mind 1) it's an internet forum this is the whole point of the thing 2) even 3-time major winners make mistakes/miscalculations sometimes.

Martin567

Milkers wrote: »

My only "criticism" of Harrington's thought process on 18 would not be that he went for birdie instead of par, but did he really choose the shot that was most likely to yield a birdie? I would argue no. And could people retorting with "you think you know better than a 3-time major winner" bear in mind 1) it's an internet forum this is the whole point of the thing 2) even 3-time major winners make mistakes/miscalculations sometimes.

Jim Furyk made the exact same decision on 18 when he was also +2. He played from a similar position to Padraig and ended up with pretty much the same result. The only difference is that he knew with certainty what was required while Padraig was forced to guess.

Either way, both players decided that the right thing to do was to go for the flag rather than just take their chances on holing a 30ft putt. There was a very low % chance of success but both players obviously felt they could living with that more than not taking the chance. If Padraig had left himself a 30ft putt, I reckon he would have had a right run at it and could well have three-putted and ended up with a 5 anyway.

newport2

Milkers wrote: »

My only "criticism" of Harrington's thought process on 18 would not be that he went for birdie instead of par, but did he really choose the shot that was most likely to yield a birdie? I would argue no. And could people retorting with "you think you know better than a 3-time major winner" bear in mind 1) it's an internet forum this is the whole point of the thing 2) even 3-time major winners make mistakes/miscalculations sometimes.

Good point, but the argument you're making is a valid one and kind of puts yourself in his position standing on the fairway, which is when the decision had to be made.
Others were saying it was a bad decision, but would state the opposite if he pulled it off. That's just rating it based on the result, not on his chances before he hit the shot. If he had hit to the middle of the green, two putted and lost by one shot, there'd be others berating him because he didn't go for the flag!

He had a gap wedge in his hand on the fairway, going for the flag with that is not that wreckless. McDowell was in the semi as far as I remember, so that might not have been an option for him, hence he played a more conservative shot.

ssbob

newport2 wrote: »

He had a gap wedge in his hand on the fairway, going for the flag with that is not that wreckless.

I think this ends this argument for me, I am a 21 handicapper:eek: but the shot Paddy took on with a GW in hand, I would expect to hit the green(maybe run off the back), but the pro's are dynamite with wedges in hand.

Paddy didn't know that the 18th had only yielded 6/7 birdies all day, he was dealing with the facts in hand!

abff

Does anyone know if he's playing in the Travelers Championship this week? He's still appearing on the entry list and is number three in the Power Rankings review on pgatour.com. However, today's Irish Times says that his next tournament is the Irish Open.

newport2

His own website indicated the Irish Open too.

abff

newport2 wrote: »

His own website indicated the Irish Open too.

What it says is as follows: "He now returns to Europe for the Scottish and Irish Opens in preparation for a tilt at a third Open title."

This strongly suggests that he is not staying in the States, but I would feel more certain if it said "he has returned". A number of US golf sites seem to think he's playing this week.

dvemail

He's scheduled to play with Louis Oosthuizen and Justin Leonard this week so i can only assume he is.

abff

He's appearing on Betfair, so I guess they wouldn't be laying odds on him if he was a non runner.

newport2

abff wrote: »

He's appearing on Betfair, so I guess they wouldn't be laying odds on him if he was a non runner.

He's also got an "expert pick" by one of the guys on PGATour.com to win this week. Looks like he's playing!

abff

And he has a 7:45 tee time, so I guess that clinches it.

It'll be interesting to see how he performs. I hope last weekend's efforts haven't taken too much out of him.

Benny Cake

Just watched the highlights of Harringtons final round at the US Open... It was great to see him back in the mix coming down the back 9. Hope he can kick on now for the remainder of the season

abff

He's currently 2 under after 10.

n2o

-3 after 11

nbar12

he seems to be on a roll recently, he's performing well in the majors! It'll be interesting to see what the odd's are for him at the British Open, would certainly be worth an e/w bet.

newport2

-1 after 13

n2o

newport2 wrote: »

-1 after 13

it gets worse....

nbar12

level par now after 14

abff

Finished 1 under. Bit of a mixed bag with 4 birdies, 1 bogey and 1 double. Maybe a bit of tiredness creeping in after last week.

JerryHandbag

Decent score in the end, nobody seems to be going birdie mad on that course....yet

abff

Level par after three holes today. Total putts sunk to date 46 inches!