Mind games not working for Pádraig

A DAY that began with high hopes for himself and his large band of supporters ended in anti-climax and no small amount of disappointment for Padraig Harrington.

He failed to capitalise on a fine ball striking performance over the final 30 holes of the Masters.

The water strewn back nine proved his nemesis as he slumped from a very promising situation starting out the day to a finish way down in the pack. At least he had the satisfaction of making birdie at the 18th courtesy of a twenty foot putt and signed for a 74 and a four over par total of 292.

Having double bogeyed the 13th and 15th in the weather delayed third round to more or less fall out of contention, Harrington dropped a shot at each once again in the afternoon. Nothing happened on the greens as was the case all the way through, he holed nothing of significance. Even though he insists his swing is better than ever, results indicate otherwise. His mind guru Dr Bob Rotella, who walked the course with him over the four days, has clearly been advising Padraig on the importance of positive thinking but given his list of disappointing results over the past couple of months, there will be those who suspect it may also be serving to close his eyes to reality.

His best finish to date in 2006 was a quarter-final place in the Accenture World Match Play Championship but in stroke play he has yet to manage a top twenty finish in the States where he has been spending most of his time since returning after his customary nine week break from competitive golf. As ever, Harrington gave it his all, a typical example being the lovely birdie he picked up at the 14th having again visited Rae’s Creek at the 13th.

Just as quickly, though, he again found water at the 15th which he played in 5, 5, 7, 6 for the tournament. A critical assessment would suggest that represents a loss of seven strokes to the realistic par of the second easiest hole at Augusta for a golfer of this calibre. The two par fives on the back proved his nemesis and it all makes for depressing reading. It’s a situation he will surely be reviewing with Rotella and coach Bob Torrance before he goes back into action again in the Shell Houston Open starting on Thursday week.

“A couple of shots here and there and I could have been pretty close,” he reasoned. “Those two par fives on the back cost me six shots, play them in four and you’re not too far away. I became very frustrated this afternoon when I missed eight foot putts for par and birdie. That was okay in the morning because I had time to make it up but I badly needed a fast start if I was to make up the ground. I knew it could be done, look at the way Olazabal has climbed his way through the field. I needed to hole my putts and achieve my aim of a 64. It’s something I need to address and because I’m not holing the putts, I’m not chipping close enough either.”

Darren Clarke went into the final round two strokes off the lead and got off to the best possible start when he sank a beautifully judged 22 foot putt on the first green and inspire hope that this could be his day. However, he found sand with his approach to the long 2nd and even though he did well to escape with a par, the magic suddenly seemed to evaporate. He struggled for his par at the 3rd where his drive rebounded out of the pine trees only to send his little wedge approach over the back of the green. A wayward tee shot cost him a bogey at number five, three putts followed on the par three 6th and when he ran up further bogeys at 9 and 10, his chance was well and truly gone.

Spain’s Sergio Garcia remains one of the great disappointments of European golf. He is still only 26 but seems to have been around for so long that it is well past the time when such a talented golfer should have a major title in the bag. Back in 1999, as an inexperienced 19 year-old, he turned in a sensational performance at the US PGA before losing by a single shot to Tiger Woods. It looked only a matter of time before he captured the first of several major championships but we’re still waiting. One would have thought that Augusta was tailormade for a player of his power hitting and excellent short game but such certainly was not the case this week.

Yesterday morning he soared to a 79 to end up last of the 47 qualifiers and so had to go out with a marker in the afternoon. He improved to a 73 on this occasion, finishing off on a bright note with a birdie three at the 18th. Mere consolation, though, for a man with such lofty ambitions. He finished with a ten over total of 298 with only the veteran Ben Crenshaw behind him. England’s Luke Donald closed on eight over, a disappointing performance by a man well fancied before the action began. Far more encouraging from a European aspect was that Thomas Bjorn at last showed a bit of decent form as he closed with a 69 for five over. A hat-trick of birdies from the opening hole lifted his spirits but the Dane needs to do even better if he is to have any hope of regaining his Ryder Cup place.

The 54 year-old Crenshaw had delighted his many admirers by shooting opening rounds of 72 and 71 to evoke memories of the days when his amazing short game was good enough to win him a two green jackets. But he toiled over the weekend and rounds of 78 and 79 saw him slip to the end of the field on twelve over 300.