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Padraig Harrington.....2015 Honda Classic Champion
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JohnnyLocke wrote: »To be honest, if you exclude the Iskandor Johor Open in 2010 (which I dont) Padraig's last win outside the majors was at the 2007 Irish Open. That's SEVEN years ago. Yes hes not accustomed to these recent results on tour but in the last seven years, in fact you have to go back 9 years, the Barclays Classic to the last time Padraig won a regular PGA Tour event. Back when Padraig was a top tour player and was primarily a "regular tour event winner" obviously after his battle with the 2nd place finishes, winning many tournaments with 18+ under par totals.
At that stage in his career he admitted he was out of his depth (despite being arguably the best player in Europe) at the majors, especially in America. He stripped his game down completely then and transformed himself into a major winning machine perhaps deteriorating his "regular event" game winning 3 majors in two years and only the Irish Open since.
My point? Padraig's game, even now, is primarily suited to the majors and the major-like golf courses on the two tours. A lot of people on here are saying he should play more in Europe but 9 out of 10 events in Europe have a winning total of 18+ under par. Can you really see him competing in these events now? OK he will make the cuts easier due to the weaker fields but I dont believe he has a better chance of winning.
Missing this years Masters and the US Open is a disaster for him because I honestly believe he had a better chance of winning either of them, than ANY of the PGA tour events this season. Am I crazy?
In 2009 he couldve won the PGA championship if he parred that infamous 8 on the par 3. In 2012 if he converted his exceptional play tee to green he wouldve most definitely won the Masters and then again at that years US Open he was one shot away from winning the US Open by going for the birdie on the last! He's always going to be a force in the Open aswel. His game has been in the doldrums for the past 6 years yet he couldve grinded out another 3 majors through this period. The big problem now is he needs something big to happen to stay competing in them!
I wouldn't disagree that he has always been better suited to tougher courses as opposed to birdie fests, he was never that sort of player. IMO he stripped his game down a lot earlier though, it was around the time of the US Open that Furyk won I think that he started the process. I think too much is made of the differentiation between major winning game and regular tour game, its still golf, its still about hitting it from A to B and getting it in the hole in as few shots as possible. All he did really was learn how to hit the ball a bit straighter and a bit better to be honest - a massive undertaking all the same.
He was regularly a contender in the big events, anytime you see PGA Tour Classics on TV from 8/10 years ago, his name is invariably on the first page or two of leaderboards. He might not have won as many as he might but he still has an awful lot of wins and was a serious contender in every event he entered.
I do think though that there's a bit of rose tinted glasses going on to think he has a chance of winning a major anytime soon or has a better chance in the majors. In theory the tougher courses might suit him, but on the flip side, ALL the best players turn up at a major and, at the moment, he simply doesn't have the game to compete with them, no matter what the course. The margins are tiny and it could be argued that he played reasonably well in missing all those cuts this season, but he still missed them, that's how small the margins are at the top level and right now, he's not there. He could of course have a Stenson like comeback and I suppose he might sneak an Open if the weather is bad and the breaks go his way, a la Clarke a few years ago, but I doubt it.
Its funny (in a strange way) that once upon a time we hoped he'd win, then we hoped he'd contend, more recently we hoped he'd make a cut and now we're hoping he simply gets into an event.
I don't know what the best course for him is, Europe or PGA Tour, I can't believe he's in the States because of the majors, sure he's not in 2 of the 3 US ones. Maybe a stint back in Europe might do him good, playing different conditions, rediscovering himself, who knows. He has nothing to prove to anyone and if he never hit another golf shot he's still our most successful golfer (at least til Rory surpasses him
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I wouldn't disagree that he has always been better suited to tougher courses as opposed to birdie fests, he was never that sort of player. IMO he stripped his game down a lot earlier though, it was around the time of the US Open that Furyk won I think that he started the process. I think too much is made of the differentiation between major winning game and regular tour game, its still golf, its still about hitting it from A to B and getting it in the hole in as few shots as possible. All he did really was learn how to hit the ball a bit straighter and a bit better to be honest - a massive undertaking all the same.
He was regularly a contender in the big events, anytime you see PGA Tour Classics on TV from 8/10 years ago, his name is invariably on the first page or two of leaderboards. He might not have won as many as he might but he still has an awful lot of wins and was a serious contender in every event he entered.
I do think though that there's a bit of rose tinted glasses going on to think he has a chance of winning a major anytime soon or has a better chance in the majors. In theory the tougher courses might suit him, but on the flip side, ALL the best players turn up at a major and, at the moment, he simply doesn't have the game to compete with them, no matter what the course. The margins are tiny and it could be argued that he played reasonably well in missing all those cuts this season, but he still missed them, that's how small the margins are at the top level and right now, he's not there. He could of course have a Stenson like comeback and I suppose he might sneak an Open if the weather is bad and the breaks go his way, a la Clarke a few years ago, but I doubt it.
Its funny (in a strange way) that once upon a time we hoped he'd win, then we hoped he'd contend, more recently we hoped he'd make a cut and now we're hoping he simply gets into an event.
I don't know what the best course for him is, Europe or PGA Tour, I can't believe he's in the States because of the majors, sure he's not in 2 of the 3 US ones. Maybe a stint back in Europe might do him good, playing different conditions, rediscovering himself, who knows. He has nothing to prove to anyone and if he never hit another golf shot he's still our most successful golfer (at least til Rory surpasses him).
I'm not saying I think he will win one of the majors I just believe we are more likely to see him in contention in a major over a 20 under par event.
I also believe there is a big difference between regular events and majors in terms of a players game. Just look at the likes of Cabrera for example. It's not just having to hit it straighter. IMO it's all about the mentality of a player in a major. 90% of the players in a regular PGA Tour/European Tour event can win, 25% of the field in a major event can win.
Lee Westwood proves it every year! In fact he proved it two weeks ago. He won a regular event the following week!
In the majors, everything is asked of you, driving, iron play, pitching, putting, but most importantly, focus and character. Granted, there can be a few exceptions to the case, when a player wins one in a once off.
Your right about Harrington stripping his game down earlier, my point was just that he knew he needed change to adapt to the major tournaments.
His game is very poor at the moment and your right, there's no indication he can compete in a major with the strongest fields in golf. However his game was in similar shape coming into the 2012 us open and he could've won. I think his confidence is completely gone at the minute and that's what's reflecting his awful results.
My argument towards this is simple. He's missed a truck load of cuts. But by how many shots? 1 or 2 almost every time. I'll agree he's "past it" or he should "take a massive break from golf" if he was missing the cuts by 10 shots! Confidence in your game turns you into a player scraping for cuts into a player competing again. How he finds that confidence I don't know.0 -
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