Johor Open, Malaysia

Mister Sifter

Nice start from Harrington...

Padraig Harrington is bidding to end a two-year barren run and he has made a superb start to his quest for victory at the Iskandar Johor Open.

The Irishman, down at 22 in the world after a winless run that stretches back to his victory at the 2008 US PGA Championship, hit form early in his round in Malaysia by making birdies at the first, second and third holes.

A further birdie at nine saw him turn in 32, but a bogey at 11 threatened to spoil his round. However, the three-time major winner produced a brilliant eagle two at the 16th and fired a second eagle on the par-five 18th to surge to the top of the leaderboard with an eight-under 64.

Colin Montgomerie made a solid start at Horizon Hills, posting a two-under-par 70. The Scot is looking to climb back up the rankings after relinquishing the Ryder Cup captaincy and he fired six birdies in his opening 18 holes. Montgomerie has struggled for consistency in recent years and that was in evidence again as four bogeys checked his progress.

Defending champion KJ Choi struggled for momentum but birdied 16 and 18 to get into red figures with a round of 70.

Retief Goosen is one of the highest-profile players at the event and an eagle on 13 helped the South African post a solid opening 68.

Australian Marcus Both sets the pace alongside Harrington after an impressive opening 64. He set the tone with a birdie on his first hole and seven more followed in a near flawless round of golf. His effort was matched by Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat who hit an eagle, seven birdies and a bogey in his 64.

blackwaterfish

SNAP!

i'll take mine down... but im posting that picture!

wobbles-grogan

He's all over the place is what he is.

At least if he was consistently bad you'd know how to bet on him but he's totally sporadic for the last 24 or so months...

blackwaterfish

JerryHandbag

^^ Did he play the whole round like that? On one leg...if so, well played:)

I know its a low key event but would be good to win just to regain some confidence. Was just thinkin yesterday that it would be the first time since the 90s that hes gone 2 whole seasons without a win, maybe I spoke too soon

I notice Monty is there too, shot -2.

Martin567

Despite having one of the poorest seasons of his career overall, I would say Padraig has shot more rounds of 64 or 65 in 2010 than he has for many years. At a guess he must have at least 8 rounds of 65 or better already, possibly 10.

Of course, this also means that he has had far more bad rounds than usual this year. The Irish Open is probably the only event in 2010 where he didn't shoot at least one disappointing round. Consistency has been the real problem caused, I think, by a lack of confidence. He badly needs a victory. If he could get one before the end of the year, it should do him the world of good.

Mister Sifter

He's shot 64 seven times this year. Plus a couple of 65s.

Johnny_Fontane

pretty good shooting but its no good as we all know.

You just hope he doesnt go the way of michael campbell - I think he's too good for that, but once you start falling away and not being in contention, it can be very difficult. Its only two year since campbell was in contention for tournaments and now he's down at the very bottom. We saw freddy couples have a similar fall a couple of years ago and he went off to Macau to try and get back in the winners circle and it worked.

Cambo is an extreme example, but there are so many others that slowly fall away and it can happen so quickly. I really hope he finds his game, but in my mind, he has to play more events, more often.

Dero123

I've always said that he plays his best when he plays an number of weeks in a row, this is his fourth week after the Vivendi, Ryder Cup and Dunhill, I would not be surprised to see him follow today could round on with a win.

Really think he needs to decide to stop these three week trip to the States followed by two weeks back home and just get out and play, it was this time lasy year when he started showing some serious form

G1032

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

pretty good shooting but its no good as we all know.

I was waiting for it. Praise him in one breath and take it back with the next. What's no good about shooting a 64? When Harrington plays badly he gets slaughtered and when he plays well he gets no credit. I'm wondering what exactly it is that he needs to do to please everyone? Win the Grand Slam? 3 years in a row? Without making a bogey??

Speak Now

67 today so leads on his own at present, reckons he didn't play well but holed a couple of long ones on his back 9. Well played Padraig, good luck over the weekend.

Only one Keano

See he is only one ahead now. Let's hope he holds it together over the weekend and gets a win under his belt but I have my doubts!

charlieIRL

Another decent score.

is there any tv coverage of this?

Speak Now

charlieIRL wrote: »

Another decent score.

is there any tv coverage of this?

The golf channel would have it, we'll surely find a stream on Sunday morning if he's in the running.

JerryHandbag

Just checkin on asiantour.com there, says he was putting like a demon...no report on how he was driving the ball though! Needs to keep that solid to win this I feel.

Johnny_Fontane

ronaldochokes wrote: »

I was waiting for it. Praise him in one breath and take it back with the next. What's no good about shooting a 64? When Harrington plays badly he gets slaughtered and when he plays well he gets no credit. I'm wondering what exactly it is that he needs to do to please everyone? Win the Grand Slam? 3 years in a row? Without making a bogey??

its no good shooting 64 and not winning in two years. For a guy like harrington, its no good at all. Ask him yourself, about a thousand journo's are asking him all the time.

Its a great score but at this level, they are all doing it. For Harrington, winning is the only thing that matters.

G1032

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

its no good shooting 64 and not winning in two years. For a guy like harrington, its no good at all. Ask him yourself, about a thousand journo's are asking him all the time.

Its a great score but at this level, they are all doing it. For Harrington, winning is the only thing that matters.

But he has a chance of winning now after shooting a 64 so I'd argue it is good. It's very good. It's hard win without shooting a 64 so i don't get your logic. You've said it's no good without waiting to see what he does over the reamining 3 rounds. Your criticism is a bit premature I feel. It just seems like you're yet another person shooting Harrington down, even when he does soemthing worth praising.
Sure he hasn't won in 2 years, but if he's going to win again he'll have to produce a 64 or two. So I say fair play to him, keep it up Harrington and silence your critics.

WHIP IT!

ronaldochokes wrote: »

But he has a chance of winning now after shooting a 64 so I'd argue it is good. It's very good. It's hard win without shooting a 64 so i don't get your logic. You've said it's no good without waiting to see what he does over the reamining 3 rounds. Your criticism is a bit premature I feel. It just seems like you're yet another person shooting Harrington down, even when he does soemthing worth praising.
Sure he hasn't won in 2 years, but if he's going to win again he'll have to produce a 64 or two. So I say fair play to him, keep it up Harrington and silence your critics.

You're really wasting your time Mate. Padraig will never get the credit he deserves. It's just not in some Irish people to be genuinely proud of their own. Sure how many people have we heard this week say Robbie Keane should be dropped from the Irish team?? Only striker we have, more goals than the whole rest of the squad put together and people want him gone.

Very "Oirish" indeed...

thegen

http://www.scoringsolutions.com.hk/livescor.htm

Harrington 5 clear thru 11 of 3rd rd. Seems to be holding it together. Mockers on him now!!!!

durkadurka

7 clear now, FWIW. nice to see him scoring, but its a very poor field. Maybe it'll give him some confidence.

Speak Now

durkadurka wrote: »

7 clear now, FWIW. nice to see him scoring, but its a very poor field. Maybe it'll give him some confidence.

Field is hardly much poorer than your average european tour event in fairness. Must be playing well to be 10 and 11 shots clear of Choi and Goosen currently.

durkadurka

8 clear now. I suppose being 8 clear of any pro field is pretty impressive. I dont recognise any of these guys from the world rankings, apart from choi, monty and goose, so i dont think it compares to an average europren event.

Speak Now

durkadurka wrote: »

8 clear now. I suppose being 8 clear of any pro field is pretty impressive. I dont recognise any of these guys from the world rankings, apart from choi, monty and goose, so i dont think it compares to an average europren event.

you surely know Lin Weng-tang, Anyway less hope he goes on to finish the job

minstrel_boy

Noh , the young south Korean is also playing. This man will go on to eclipse mcilroy, fowler and ishikawa!!

I read in the indo that Mcilroy is playing a challenge tour event in Egypt this week. Whats that all about??

waterford333

How many ranking points would Harrington get if he wins? Surely he would be back in the top 20?

Adiaga 2

waterford333 wrote: »

How many ranking points would Harrington get if he wins? Surely he would be back in the top 20?

Might just about scrape 20th going by last years owgr points for this event. As mentioned, i think the win would be great for his confidence, but lets not count any chickens yet.

G1032

durkadurka wrote: »

8 clear now. I suppose being 8 clear of any pro field is pretty impressive. I dont recognise any of these guys from the world rankings, apart from choi, monty and goose, so i dont think it compares to an average europren event.

Who cares what it compares to. He has still shot 64, 67 and is currently -4 thru 17 holes of round 3. Doesn't matter who is in the field. They are still 3 great scores. He can only beat what's put in front of him and if he had played badly in the 3 rounds he wouldn't be top of the leaderboard.

G1032

Harrington finished with a 68 in round 3 for a -17 total. Great shooting.

Mister Sifter

Asian Tour Golf Show - 2am on Sky Sports HD3

30 mins.

All the latest news and results on the Asian Golf Tour. Includes highlights of all the recent tournaments and interviews with the top players.

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Asian Tour Golf - 2pm on Sky Sports 3

Also on Sky Sports HD3

60 mins.

The Iskandar Johor Open at Horizon Hills Golf And Country Club, Malaysia. KJ Choi is the defending champion and the event attracts some big names to the field.

Speak Now

Joint lowest round of the day, shame he didn't birdie the last but a 5 shot lead going into tomorrow is nice. Let's hope he does it. Should be interesting, sure to feel some pressure if someone comes out of the pack.

Figo69

ronaldochokes wrote: »

Who cares what it compares to. He has still shot 64, 67 and is currently -4 thru 17 holes of round 3. Doesn't matter who is in the field. They are still 3 great scores. He can only beat what's put in front of him and if he had played badly in the 3 rounds he wouldn't be top of the leaderboard.

+1 - I'm with this! His performance has got nothing to do with the quality of the field. He is coming into his game and we will see a hugely improved end of the year finish from Harry.

Speak Now

Hurt his neck on the driving range before round 3 and says if he hadn't been in such a strong position he would have withdrawn. Nothing ever plain sailing with Padraig, hope the neck is not too stiff in the morning.

Aidric

If he can't finish the job with a five shot lead over those competitiors closest to him then it's a significant fold.

It's good to see him playing well again. Getting a win under his belt would be ideal preperation coming in to a few marquee events.

allybhoy

Does anybody know anywhere i can watch this? Was in Malaysia last month and played this course, its beautiful, id love to watch it just to see how it looks and see how they play certain holes.

couerdelion

Someone earlier on this thread has posted a list of times it will be shown on Sky.

soundsham

-21 playing 14th 6 shot lead for ph.....

Jul3s

5 shot lead with 2 to play, this ones in the bag, well done fair play Padraig.

durkadurka

Well done padraig, lets hope this kick starts things.

thegen

Excellent news. -21 playing 18, 5 clear. Happy Days.

bigtimecharlie

Congrats to PH. Pity there isn't a major on next week.

Aidric

Good man Harrington, nice to see him closing the deal. It would be even nicer to see him kick on from here.

Adiaga 2

Aidric wrote: »

Good man Harrington, nice to see him closing the deal. It would be even nicer to see him kick on from here.

How did you stop yourself from mentioning his bogey on the last???

Well done PH. Onwards and upwards.

WHIP IT!

Good stuff, should be a great boost to his confidence.

charlieIRL

Well done PH. 4 rounds in the 60's as well. Nice one.

JerryHandbag

Good man Paddington!! I thought it was a bit odd going to Asia instead of Portugal Masters but there you are, wouldnt be the first time he proved someone wrong!

Its a pity there probably wont be much world ranking pts on offer, might climb a place or 2.

durkadurka

I think he's designing a course out there or something.

Speak Now

Very few posting, he must have won

Well played Padraig, a win playing your fourth week on the trot.

Aidric

A pic of the champ. Nice blazer.

madds

Delighted. Three weeks off now before he heads back to Asia.

Adiaga 2

Harrington now back in the world top 20. Bit surprised he collected 20 owgr points for yesterdays win when Rocco Mediate only picked up 24pts for his win on the pgatour. Anyway good to see Padraig get back and hopefully some good results in the HSBC and Dubai will consolidate his position.