Harrington putting golf on hold to drive for charity
An audience of almost 1,500 is expected for an occasion sponsored by Kartel and O2, with tickets priced at €50 and €65 for adults and €30 for children under 16.
“My wife Caroline and I are truly grateful for the good fortune my golfing career has brought us and we are moved and deeply conscious of the needs of others,” said Harrington last night.
“We can undertake some initiatives that will generate much needed funds for distribution to worthy causes through the Charitable Foundation. For the show, I believe that, through many years of working on my golf game, I can banish the myths and misunderstandings of golf for all level of players, from beginner to serious competitor.
“The fundamentals of the swing, the short game and mental techniques will all be part of the show. I’m looking forward to it, if I wasn’t a player I’d love to be a coach.”
Although he will be busy in many other respects, not least with the show, Harrington is on a nine-week ‘holiday’ from golf.
He does so on the back of a season in which he captured the German Masters, played a crucial role in Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph, improved his world ranking to sixth and finished second in his last two tournaments. Yet, he doesn’t regard 2004 as having been particularly successful. He is adamant greater things lie ahead and that playing more in the US will help him to realise his ambitions.
“I played the Masters this year after only three or four events and then the US Open after another three or four and felt I hadn’t competed enough,” Harrington explained.
“I looked at the schedule and realised that tournaments in America on courses I should do well on were best suited for me to put that right. As far as world ranking points are concerned though, I don’t believe you maximise your points and earnings by playing in the States. I’ve probably won as many in the States in the last year as I did in Europe. While there are fewer points at stake in Europe, they’re easier to get. The fact that three years ago, I was eighth and Vijay Singh was ninth is encouraging - in the way he was able to turn it around. He deserves to be number one. It looks like Tiger and Ernie will put a bit of pressure on him next year. For me, it’s just a case of trying to bridge the gap from sixth to the top five. It is a big jump. A major win would do it.
“Six months ago when I dropped out of the top ten, there was consternation there was no European in the world’s top ten. And I said at the time, it’s all swings and roundabouts. We had a great period in the late 80s and 90s, it drifted, and we’re coming strong again. All the best young players seem to be Europeans. The major has to come. And when one of the guys does it, it becomes more accessible for everybody else.
“But the present top five are strong and are going to cut up a lot of majors. Vijay, Ernie, Tiger is starting to play well. They have the game for major championships.”
The players ahead of Harrington in the rankings have won a major - and that in turn has led the American media to label him as the best player in the world not to have won a major, especially after Phil Mickelson’s Masters victory last April.
“By including me in that category shows how far I’ve come. I’ve got to be content with that - I can’t see it as a negative. I’m not going to have it as a burden that I’m the best player not to have won a major.
“I’ll get a run where I’ll win all around me. People will throw tournaments at me. Everything that happened over the years will happen in reverse. I know it will happen.”
* Tickets for the show at Citywest can be acquired through Ticketmaster outlets nationwide, online at www.ticketmaster.ie or on telephone 0818 - 719300. All proceeds will go to charity.
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