Harrington happy to be under pressure

DESPITE Padraig Harrington’s amazing achievements in a relatively short professional career, it seems that only victory in a major championship will satisfy everybody interested in his progress.

His penchant for finishing second has disappointed so many people who find it difficult to erase from their memories his final collapse in the European Open at The K-Club, while his dubious choice of a driver off the 18th tee in the Open has caused fierce debate in clubhouses, bars and coffee houses just about everywhere.

Harrington, of course, isn’t the only one to have failed to deliver when most was expected of him. You only have to think of Colin Montgomerie and Phil Mickelson to realise just what a truism that is. But with three top ten finishes in this year’s majors already under his belt (the only other player to achieve this is Sergio Garcia), the level of expectation has risen sharply this week at Hazeltine.