Pádraig Harrington’s legacy is, without doubt, secure. And yet, even at the grand old age of 53, the Dubliner will move onwards from the altitude of Colorado Springs where he won the Senior US Open, to sea level for the next phase of his season.
While a second US Senior Open win in four years was claimed at a height of 6,000 feet, way up in the Rockies, Harrington has pencilled in the Genesis Scottish Open and the Open at Royal Portrush as the next two events in his schedule.
The win in Colorado again reaffirmed his competitive mindset. It also showed the sheer joy that, even at this juncture of a professional career stretching into a third decade, a win can bring.
As he said when asked to put the win into perspective: “Winning. It’s all about winning. Every time you come back out and you win, the nerves are there, the tension is there, you don’t want to mess up . . . I think winning a US Senior Open or any tournament on the Champions Tour, it kind of validates your career. It validates the past in a lot of ways. Genuinely, I know I’ve said this, but you are reliving the past glories.”
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In out-duelling Stewart Cink in a tremendous final round of the US Senior Open, Harrington – who moved from 17th to fifth on the updated Charles Schwab Cup order of merit standings on the Champions Tour – also confirmed his desire and energy remains as strong as ever, with life on the seniors circuit contributing to that freshness.
He continued: “Most of us would have burnt out in golf. You put so much into your golfing career, you burn out. Usually . . . about 20 years is the burn-out period, 15 to 20 years. The Champions Tour is a new lease on life. The only way you can do it is with a different attitude and a new attitude.”
Harrington elaborated on how a change in attitude hasn’t altered his quest for improvement, which has led to him now having a greater ball speed than when he was winning his Majors in 2007 and 2008.
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He has recorded a ball speed of 189 miles per hour this season, a record for him, thanks to speed-training drills and training aids.
“You’re always trying to improve. You’re always trying to get better. I don’t think there’s anything I could do now that I couldn’t have done when I was younger.
“I would have done some things different when I was younger, for sure. I don’t regret how I approached the game and the way I went about it. Certainly I now appreciate more how much effort it takes to play on a Sunday compared to every other day.
“If you want to win tournaments, you’ve got to be exceptionally fresh and mentally fresh on Sunday. You’ve got to have the least amount of stress all the way you can during the week.”
Next up for Harrington will be a return to his roots, so to speak, as he gets back to links golf. Firstly, at next week’s Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick. Then, at The Open at Royal Portrush in back-to-back weeks.
Meanwhile, Séamus Power – who missed the cut in the Rocket Classic tournament won in a playoff by Aldrich Potgieter – is the lone Irishman in the field at this week’s PGA Tour event, the John Deere in Illinois. The tournament offers two exemptions into The Open.
On the DP World Tour, Conor Purcell is the only Irishman in the field at the BMW International Open in Munich, while John Murphy and Jack Madden are competing in the Interwetten Open in Austria on the Hotelplanner Tour.
