Padraig Harrington.....2015 Honda Classic Champion

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abff wrote: »

What is happening with Padraig today? That's six holes gone and not a green hit in regulation yet (not even the par 5). And a 2 to 3 footer missed on the 4th.

Hopefully, he'll bounce back on the back nine.

Cant seem to get to grips with the front 9 at all.
Has had a double bogey each day.

front 9 - 6 Over
Back 9 - 12 under (Has birdied every hole but 1)

abff

Pity about the 18th - Padraig's first bogey on the back 9. At this stage, his problems seem to be psychological. He was two shots clear after around 27 holes and he imploded.

I just feel that he's SO close. If he gets a win, the floodgates will open. He just needs that first win.

Speak Now

20 shots better off to par on the back 9 than he was on the front :eek:

big_drive

abff wrote: »

I just feel that he's SO close. If he gets a win, the floodgates will open. He just needs that first win.

I agree and have been saying it with a while. I think one win would release all the pressure and a couple more wins could follow quite quickly. He's had a lot of tournaments where 3 rounds have been super but there always seems to be one round that drags down his overall placing.

Seves Three Iron

Ranked 54th in the latest WGRs, only up one place but progress at least. Edging closer to the big top 50 again.

ssbob

Seves Three Iron wrote: »

Ranked 54th in the latest WGRs, only up one place but progress at least. Edging closer to the big top 50 again.

The next 3 events that will be dropping out of his OWGR Calculations are all low points so another 3 steady Top 20's or better will get him into the Top 50.

Does anyone know his next event?

Because on his website, it says that in a week he is heading to Dubai but that's not on until the 3rd week in Nov.

I know he didn't qualify for the WGC but is in the field for the BMW?

ssbob

ssbob wrote: »

The next 3 events that will be dropping out of his OWGR Calculations are all low points so another 3 steady Top 20's or better will get him into the Top 50.

Does anyone know his next event?

Because on his website, it says that in a week he is heading to Dubai but that's not on until the 3rd week in Nov.

I know he didn't qualify for the WGC but is in the field for the BMW?

Just checked it myself:rolleyes: he is in the BMW so there will be huge ranking points available there for a Top 10 or better.

abff

ssbob wrote: »

I know he didn't qualify for the WGC but is in the field for the BMW?

He hasn't qualified for the WGC YET. There's a slot available for the winner of the BMW.

Trampas

PH is in the pga grand slam after els pulls out

abff

I think that's a fairly strange decision given his current position in the World Rankings. http://www.irishgolfdesk.com/news-files/2012/10/20/harrington-sacrifices-rankings-for-pga-grand-slam.html

GreeBo

as the article says, does he really need to get inside the top 50 now?
he is only missing the cadillac and had 3 months to qualify next year anyway...
to me it shows that he is not worried about his game and is actually confident.

abff

GreeBo wrote: »

as the article says, does he really need to get inside the top 50 now?
he is only missing the cadillac and had 3 months to qualify next year anyway...
to me it shows that he is not worried about his game and is actually confident.

I saw those comments, but he doesn't tend to play much in the early part of the year and usually slides down the ranking in January/February. Unless he's planning a change in schedule, he's putting his participation in the WGC World Matchplay at risk as he's not that far ahead of 64th.

I know it hasn't been his most successful event, but he's constantly talking about getting back into the WGC events, so I still think it's a bit strange. Having said that, maybe he feels he's the grand slam event owes him a win. Let's hope he'll get more opportunities to take part in future years under more conventional circumstances.:D

PRAF

I think he's hoping for a long overdue win. He has a 1 in 4 chance of doing it, and is guaranteed at least $200k for doing so. Bubba, Webb and Keegan are all birdie machines though so Paddy will have to play very well to have a chance of doing the business. If he did, it'd be a nice boost to his confidence ahead of his final few tourneys of the year.

abff

I guess it's a lot of money to turn down. I wonder how he got offered the spot when Ernie dropped out?

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abff wrote: »

I guess it's a lot of money to turn down. I wonder how he got offered the spot when Ernie dropped out?

McDowell and Woods were ahead of him in the reserve list but didnt take up the option. I the reserve list was made up of those who performed well in the 4 majors this year.

abff

Jerry Seinfeld wrote: »

McDowell and Woods were ahead of him in the reserve list but didnt take up the option. I the reserve list was made up of those who performed well in the 4 majors this year.

Thanks. Where did you get that info?

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abff wrote: »

Thanks. Where did you get that info?

http://www.pga.com/grandslam/news/padraig-harrington-replaces-ernie-els-wake-ankle-injury

"Harrington accepted the invitation to compete in the 2012 PGA Grand Slam of Golf after second and third alternates, Graeme McDowell and Tiger Woods, were unavailable."

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Seves Three Iron wrote: »

Ranked 54th in the latest WGRs, only up one place but progress at least. Edging closer to the big top 50 again.

Down 3 places to 57th now.

abff

I'd love to know what criteria were used in deciding Padraig was next in line.

I had a look at the results of this year's majors and Padraig came 14th in terms of number of OWGR points won. Keegan Bradley came 19th. The excuse for inviting him seems to be that he won this event last year.

If the invitation is based on OWGR points won by those who made the cut in all 4 majors, Padraig was 5th and Bradley was 7th behind Scott, MacDowell, Poulter, Woods and Furyk (6th). This kind of ties in with the press release which mentions MacDowell and Woods if we assume Scott and Poulter had already said they weren't interested.

Maybe they wanted a non American to add an international flavour to the event. Fingers crossed he can go on and win it.

paulos53

Scott and Poulter don't qualify as they have never won a major.

The Defending Champion is the first alternate which is how Bradley got in. After that it is based on performances in the 2012 majors but I don't know how they calculate that. I guess it is world ranking points but am not 100% certain.

Glencarraig

Things must be tight, I see the private jet is up for sale, just 22 months after he bought it !

PRAF

Glencarraig wrote: »

Things must be tight, I see the private jet is up for sale, just 22 months after he bought it !

Really? Well buying your own private jet is utter madness if you ask me. A flight of fancy some would say

ssbob

Glencarraig wrote: »

Things must be tight, I see the private jet is up for sale, just 22 months after he bought it !

Where'd you see that?

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ssbob wrote: »

Where'd you see that?

http://www.irishgolfdesk.com/news-files/2012/10/22/harrington-puts-his-jet-on-the-market.html

"Before he bought it he admitted that it would never be able to justify its running costs - just like billionaire Warren Buffett"

Seves Three Iron

There was a throwaway quote from Harri after the USPGA that he reckoned he was third in terms of consistency across all four majors this year. Suppose third alternate is about right based on that.

On the private jet, there is a suggestion he could actually make a profit on the sale of it - ever the accountant!

abff

paulos53 wrote: »

Scott and Poulter don't qualify as they have never won a major.

The Defending Champion is the first alternate which is how Bradley got in. After that it is based on performances in the 2012 majors but I don't know how they calculate that. I guess it is world ranking points but am not 100% certain.

That makes sense. If we exclude this year's winners, PH was 3rd in line of previous winners in terms of world ranking points for this year's majors among those who made the cut in all 4 majors this year (behind MacDowell and Woods) and 4th in line in overall points (Louis Oosthuizen being 2nd and Woods 3rd).

paulos53

He is 2 shots ahead after the 1st round.

abff

Good first round for Padraig.

1 - Padraig Harrington - 66
2 - Bubba Watson - 68
3 - Webb Simpson - 69
4 - Keegan Bradley - 72

I had a look for TV coverage but couldn't find it anywhere. Does anyone know if it's being shown anywhere on this side of the pond? I have Sky if it's available on one of the extra channels.

GreeBo

ss3 from 9

abff

Thanks GreeBo. I was looking for live coverage, which is why I couldn't find it. I might record tomorrow's coverage and watch it without hearing the result first.