Harrington

L.O.F.T

Hi Lads,
Anyone as disappointed as me with Harrington’s performances in the last few weeks. He is forever frustrating to watch. I know he has enormous qualities and is a proven winner but watching these last few weeks have me scratching my head with his poor form and golf in general. I would have thought Perez would have been a draw he was comfortable with and would have seen himself progressing as Perez even said he was not in great form after several weeks on tour. Pebble beach M/C, Last week M/C and this week first round out?! His constant talk of striving for the majors is all I hear and that his game is geared to those majors but surely making the cut is a s important for confidence as any major preparation for 2009. Very frustrating and would like to know what is the opinion here?

Par72

Pat Perez is in pretty decent form I would think. Didn't he just win the Bob Hope a few weeks ago?

I don't have any expectations of Harrington, he has been working on his swing a bit lately so I wouldn't expect him to be in great form at the moment. Let's see how he gets on in the majors eh?

Did you have money on him or something?

brian076

I definitely think he has a problem with his concentration, he's admitted himself in the past that he feels totally different on Thursday & Friday, compared to the weekend. I'm also not sure about his caddy, I think he may need someone stronger on the bag to talk him out of some of the shots he attempts.
At the Masters 2 years ago I think he was in the water at least 3 times on the par 5's, whereas if he'd laid up & played them like Zach Johnston, he could have won it by 2 or 3 strokes

Mister Sifter

I seem to remember similar discussion about Harrington around May/June last year... we all know what happened in the 2 months that followed.

Mr. Larson

I would agree with the view that Pat Perez was a tough 1st round draw. He won a few weeks back on the PGA Tour and is a fine player. From the very few small few bits I saw of Harrington [I'll forgive Sky for the Tiger Woods fest in terms of coverage given the day that was in it] he played some lovely stuff around the greens and holed some serious pressure long putts to keep the match alive on 16 & 17. No real shame in losing out to Perez on the 18th I would have thought. I didn't hear what he said about it but I'd imagine he is still quietly confident he will be in a good place come Augusta.

deko43

Harringtons matchplay record in recent years has been dreadful.
10 matches in the last two ryder cups with only 2 half points gained.
In the world matchplay over the last three years he has gone out in either the first or second round. Hopefully he will turn things around for the Masters.. he usually comes up trumps so I will keep the faith and have a bob or two on him for Augusta...

jpjc05

disappointing so far this year but tis early days. He's 2 months to get back into the zone...plenty of time

Mr. Larson

Let's hope Harrington is to golf what the Germans are to the soccer World Cup. everyone thinks he's s**t but somehow he's always in the mix at end game.

Trampas

Harrington has also done terrible in this m/play tourney over the years.

WGC 2 weeks time which he should be up for as WGC are next tourneys to win after majors.

deko43

Trampas wrote: »

Harrington has also done terrible in this m/play tourney over the years.

WGC 2 weeks time which he should be up for as WGC are next tourneys to win after majors.

I dont think he is playing in the WGC. Think he has scheduled to miss that so he can get a 3 week run into the masters...

Trampas

deko43 wrote: »

I dont think he is playing in the WGC. Think he has scheduled to miss that so he can get a 3 week run into the masters...

Didn't realise that. Strange decision.

1916

deko43 wrote: »

I dont think he is playing in the WGC. Think he has scheduled to miss that so he can get a 3 week run into the masters...

Yep think thats correct, 'cos Padraig maintains he's in peak form on the 3rd week playing..

conno16

paddy is not a big game player
he doesn't have the necessary convictions to be a success at matchplay

dont get me wrong, i think hes done great over the last few years but did people really expect him to dominate golf this year cause he won two majors last year?

thats not to say he wont win another major this year - tournaments are funny like that

f22

Jesus man you talk some serious gick.

On one hand you say he's not a big game player and on the other say you wouldn't be surprised if he wins another major this year.

Since when is a major not "big game"? It's as big as it gets.

Do you do this to get a reaction or do you generally type before you think.

conno16

conno16 wrote: »

but did people really expect him to dominate golf this year cause he won two majors last year?

Yep,you would expect him to be up there seeing as he was the best player last year.

Also your insinuating his wins last year were luck,you dont win what he has with luck.

soundsham

conno16 wrote: »

paddy is not a big game player
he doesn't have the necessary convictions to be a success at matchplay

dont get me wrong, i think hes done great over the last few years but did people really expect him to dominate golf this year cause he won two majors last year?

thats not to say he wont win another major this year - tournaments are funny like that

please dont reply to above

i ask you...........

PhilipMarlowe

You give a dog some lead and he'll bite you.

conno16

no i was just sayin last week that i could never see paddy winning a matchplay comp cause it requires a head-to-head big game over a 4/5 rounds
paddy is lethal at grinding out his game over four days and finding himself in the hunt, before making a run for it with 5/6/7 holes left
that would never work in matchplay

rory is different, he thrives in this sort of environment
mcginley was also good on a head-to-head basis back in the day

thegen

conno, not sure where your rational is coming from. He spent most of his formative years as an amateur playing matchplay. He is at the moment holding two majors. He was three under for his matchplay round v Perez and went out, Rory was 1 under and went through.

Me thinks you dont like HarryO

thegen

Sorry Soundsham, I had to.
Some people talk a lot of !"1T

soundsham

ok my problem is on every issue this guy rears his head it turns into a pro harrington versus anti harrington debate........

then
1 the general point of the thread is lost
2 if becomes juvenile

and most importantly
3 the antagonist gets his kick

now i as good as anyone enjoy an argument/debate for the crack(as well as a serious one) often on a small or minute item that anyone in earshot could question my sanity...........but this guy is just a little pest

and most times he gets his spoke in he spoils the thread for everyone else

is there any way to have the guy muted

thegen

sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

soundsham

no prob!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kermitpwee

conno16 wrote: »

dont get me wrong, i think hes done great over the last few years but did people really expect him to dominate golf this year cause he won two majors last year?

In fairness i was your critic in a previous thread but thats a fair point you have made. I'm pro paddy but i didn't expect him to do well this year. I think it would be unreasonable to expect the same this year. Paddy may win another 1-3 majors but he needs time.

IMO tiger is the man capable of winning a major every year but I don't think there is anybody else at that level yet.

Mister Sifter

kermitpwee wrote: »

I'm pro paddy

copacetic

deko43 wrote: »

I dont think he is playing in the WGC. Think he has scheduled to miss that so he can get a 3 week run into the masters...

from todays times:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/sport/2009/0227/1224241894479.html

Rusty Harrington adds Doral to schedule

Missed cuts at Pebble Beach and in LA have left him short of match practice, writes BRIAN KEOGH in Arizona

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON avoided sunstroke, the diamond-backed rattlesnakes and even the nasty, jumping cholla cacti that await the unsuspecting golfer in the Sonoran Desert which is playing host to this week’s WGC- Accenture Matchplay Championship.

But he still got badly stung, not so much by Pat Perez, but by his failure to separate his technical thoughts from that golfing rule of natural selection: he who gets his ball in the hole first, wins.

A peek at Harrington’s early-season results reveals a wilderness as dry and inhospitable as this week’s venue. But the reasons behind the reigning British Open and US PGA champion’s miserable run are simple enough, and the solution will come in the form of an unscheduled, one-off trip to Miami next month to take on Doral’s famed Blue Monster course in the WGC-CA Championship.

The move has yet to be confirmed by Harrington’s management team, but his lack of sharpness in Tucson and successive missed cuts at Pebble Beach and Riviera have left him woefully short of match practice.

As he said when he trudged off the 18th at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club on Wednesday night: “I am right back on track with my game. But it is tough in matchplay and I would like to have played some more golf, because I think my game is right there.”

The Dubliner had planned to return to action in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill from March 26th-29th, then play the Houston Open, before heading to Augusta, where he will be bidding to become just the third player to win three major championships in a row.

Yet while his two-events-before-a-major plan remains in place, Harrington feels he can benefit hugely from playing four rounds in a no-cut event at Doral from March 12th-15th, rather than waiting until Bay Hill to see how his game is shaping up.

He confessed in Tucson that he has been distracted by technical thoughts, and spent so much time making running repairs to his game after his winter break that he has been unable to get into tournament mode and concentrate simply on scoring.

Three days alongside his mental coach, Dr Bob Rotella, who he had not seen since his third major victory in the US PGA at Oakland Hills last August, helped him banish the technical thoughts that have cluttered his mind in recent weeks.

But he failed to live up to his matchplay creed of getting the ball in the hole and not giving up on any holes. Two front-nine errors left him one down after six holes to Perez when he should have been one up.

And while he got back to all square, a couple of Perez birdies left him struggling.

After coming back to trail by one hole with one to play, he missed a 10-footer at the last to take the match down the 19th.

Had he snuck through the first round, Harrington might well have survived for a few more days after clarifying his thought processes under Rotella’s instruction.

“I have been practising too much and not concentrating on the right areas to be competitive,” Harrington revealed. “Pretty much the same as every year since I turned professional.

“It was great to see Bob Rotella and we had a great chat over breakfast on Monday morning. We worked on the range on the usual stuff, getting into my target and going through my routines. It was hard to believe how tough it was for me to actually hit one shot without thinking about some part of my swing or stance or set up.

“I must have hit about 30 shots before I decided to just not worry about the outcome and hit a shot. This was the first shot I have played this year where I wasn’t thinking about something in my swing.”

Defeat left him facing a four-week lay-off to think about his game, and while adding Doral to his schedule is not ideal, it will give him a chance to get his season back on track.

GreeBo

soundsham wrote: »

ok my problem is on every issue this guy rears his head it turns into a pro harrington versus anti harrington debate........

then
1 the general point of the thread is lost
2 if becomes juvenile

and most importantly
3 the antagonist gets his kick

now i as good as anyone enjoy an argument/debate for the crack(as well as a serious one) often on a small or minute item that anyone in earshot could question my sanity...........but this guy is just a little pest

and most times he gets his spoke in he spoils the thread for everyone else

is there any way to have the guy muted

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Search for him.
Job done.

Grey Fox

L.O.F.T wrote: »

Hi Lads,
Anyone as disappointed as me with Harrington’s performances in the last few weeks. He is forever frustrating to watch. I know he has enormous qualities and is a proven winner but watching these last few weeks have me scratching my head with his poor form and golf in general. I would have thought Perez would have been a draw he was comfortable with and would have seen himself progressing as Perez even said he was not in great form after several weeks on tour. Pebble beach M/C, Last week M/C and this week first round out?! His constant talk of striving for the majors is all I hear and that his game is geared to those majors but surely making the cut is a s important for confidence as any major preparation for 2009. Very frustrating and would like to know what is the opinion here?

Hi L.OF.T., I feel exactly the same as you. I want Harrington to do well in every tournament but this constant underachievement is very hard to take from one of your heros. His Major victories made me so proud but they are in stark contrast to his form in almost every other event. The fact is that Harrington is to golf what Lance Armstrong was to cycling (Lance only cared about the Tour de France as Harrington only cares about Majors). I think this is disappointing (he should try and win every tournament or at least make the cut), and I also think Harrington is the most overrated golfer in the world.

gerp

Dont get me wrong guys i want to see Paddy playing really well but have you ever seen a player to be so hot and cold.

Niall09

He's down to 5th in the world now.

Let's hope he can get back on top form in the coming events, and win at Augusta (unless Rory wins )

soundsham

GreeBo wrote: »

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Search for him.
Job done.

didn't know you could.............bliss!!!!!;)

ty,