Pádraig Harrington shows inner peace brings success on the course
Harrington is living proof that a good lifestyle, work ethic, and mindset can go a long way towards success.
Such has been the roller-coaster ride of emotional highs and lows with his golf game in recent years that he would have been forgiven for accepting that age and time had finally caught up — but not just yet it seems, and if rounds of 66, 63, 67, 65 last week are anything to go by, then his 15th win on the European Tour may just mark the start of something special over the coming years.
No one can ever doubt Harrington’s bravery on the golf course but bravery needs a platform and more recently I have been encouraged to hear Pádraig talking about his improved putting performances and just last week, his improved mindset.
For a man who is prone to regularly tearing his game apart in search of improvement, these are vital ingredients and if Harrington, now consolidates rather than experimenting F then perhaps we will indeed see him competing for titles more regularly.
His game statistics from last week, made for interesting reading in that the inner peace he found on a course that very much suited his eye meant he was able to produce a performance as much from his power as from his short game.
For example, last week he averaged, 301 yards off the tee as compared to his seasonal average of 289 on the PGA Tour. He was less accurate 52% to 61% but his length counted — allowing him to hit more greens in regulation 69% to 64%, but it was his scrambling around the greens 100% which included a chip-in and a holed bunker shot in the last round, plus his putting per greens hit in regulation 1.539 last week as opposed to his 1.779 seasonal average that had the most telling impact — as it allowed him to stay competitive when things were not going well and to win once the opportunity presented itself.
Encouragingly, 23 under par also represents the lowest four round total on the European Tour all year, so for a confident and more relaxed Harrington, the signs of further progress back towards the world’s top 50 ranked players in time for the Masters next year, look good, though nothing is ever plane-sailing when we are talking about Pádraig.
oments in Time.
I wasn’t there to witness at first hand Munster’s famous victory over the All Blacks in 1978, but in time I will be able to say that both myself and two of my children, were proudly there to witness the very emotional Champions Cup game dedicated to the lifelong achievements of Anthony Foley, last weekend.I found it to be was a very fitting tribute and words can’t describe the emotional respect I felt for Foley’s extended family and for the Munster supporters from near and far. Perhaps it can be best described by the level of awe, appreciation, and pride my youngest boy Harry had for all things Munster on leaving the stadium.
And so as we head into the dreary winter months, it is nice to know that our hearts have already been warmed by the on-the-pitch response shown by the Munster players to Anthony’s passing — marking it with an emotionally motivated performance of unrelenting passion, aided in no small way by the human elements of skill, courage and leadership.
Saving all of their energy for their performance, technically and tactically Munster were very good — but it was their mental determination and doggedness to deliver a fitting tribute that shone brightest.
It was a response that Foley himself, you suspect, would have been proud of. In an era of declining success for our provincial teams on the European stage, it offers the type of hope in performance that we have craved for some time.
More tellingly perhaps, it was also interesting to note that last weekend there was no mention of any dearth of talent within the Munster camp or about the buying power of the money-drenched English and French teams in advance of the match, proving once and for all that focus, resolve, and commitment can go a very long way towards once again galvanising Munster’s famous support base.
As if we needed to know, last week definitively proved to all just how “BIG” and respected the Munster brand still is throughout the world of rugby union, and for a man feted for all of his leadership skills.
One hopes now that the legacy of this match will act as the catalyst for the administrative strategists and tacticians on and off the pitch to do everything in their powers to spearhead Munster’s commercial revival.
