A tale of two Irishmen
Whereas Padraig Harrington is coming off a tie for the Buick Classic in New York at the weekend and seems to have everything going for him, Darren Clarke missed the cut in the same event and his confidence appears to be at an all-time low.
True, Harrington arrived at this spectacular Long Island venue insisting that his result in the Buick he eventually bowed out at the second hole of the play-off won by Sergio Garcia belied the state of his golf swing. "It was appalling," he repeated time and again to just about everybody's bewilderment. How could you lead a 72 tournament against the world's best if you were that much out of tune with your game!
It could be that Harrington considered the conundrum overnight, as he has since come out declaring that he had solved his rotational problem and instead of hooking the ball, as he had done in New York, was now hitting it with a nice cut.
Everything was back in working order again and thankfully that positive attitude continued throughout yesterday when the practice rounds were completed in scorching sunshine and in temperatures in the high 80s. Harrington has had four top finishes in major championships, suggesting that he is developing nicely on the way to the big breakthrough.
His best finish in the US Open was fifth at Pebble Beach in 2000, tied for eighth at Bethpage Park two years ago after going into the third round in second place and paired with Tiger Woods and shared 10th place at Olympia Fields, Chicago, 12 months ago. He has a scoring average of 72.21 and earned $475,558 from his six appearances. His best finish in the greens hit in regulation category was fourth last year, a ranking he also enjoyed in the 1998 putting stats at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. He has never been out of double figures in fairways hit, his best rating 14th in 2000 and his worst 52nd in 1998 and is 45 over par for his 22 rounds.
"I haven't gone into that many majors when I felt I had a chance of winning one," he accepts. "Only in recent years have I come into form in the majors. I haven't much experience of being in contention for too many and I've run into some of those top fives. Hopefully, though, I'm getting to the stage where I can compete from day one through all four days and get myself into a position to win on Sunday."
The fact that Harrington chalked up his 23rd second place at Westchester on Sunday is both a source of amusement to some and an indication to others that he just doesn't have what it takes to win. Disappointingly, the latter view is held by many Irish people who, perhaps understandably, are so keen to see him victorious that they are unduly frustrated when he comes up just short.
And there's even worse out here. Perhaps the heat is getting to people on Long Island but this was the introduction to a piece on Padraig in yesterday's New York Post: "Now that Phil Mickelson has relinquished the least sought after title in golf the man who couldn't win the big one this humbling sport offers up Padraig Harrington, a man who hasn't won at all."
Harrington, of course, has captured eight European Tour titles and includes victory in the 2002 Target World Challenge in California when he beat Tiger Woods on his imposing c.v. And as for all the talk about his list of runner-up spots, he states philosophically but firmly: "Actually, I'm totally indifferent to it at this stage. I'm not going to spend too much time worrying about it. I'm just waiting for it to go all my way at some stage."
A comment, of course, that brings up the value of patience. Every one of the 156-strong field believe it's a vital ingredient this week. Padraig Harrington has it in abundance and that's one good reason why he could silence his detractors come Sunday evening.
When last seen, Darren Clarke was tinkering with yet another putter, firmly convinced that if he could only knock in a reasonable share with the blade that he could be a serious challenger this week. The sight of a few long ones going in would certainly do a lot for his confidence and Clarke is undoubtedly a ball striker of rare quality. However, whether he has the mental stamina to survive four intensely stressful days over a tricky golf course that he doesn't particularly like is a very moot point.
Although he loves America and its ways and has won two World Championships over here, his record in this event is nothing short of awful.
The 35-year-old missed the cut on his first two visits and while he has completed 72 holes in each of the last seven years, his best finish was a share of 10th in 1999. His scoring average is 73.17 and he stands 96 over par for his 32 rounds. In Pete Coleman, he has one of the most experienced and most highly regarded caddies in the professional game. Maybe they can conjure up something between them, but the portents, to say the very least, are not good.
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