Thumbs up for Harrington
Harrington defeated Ryder Cup team-mate Thomas Levet in the quarter-finals of the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wentworth but was in severe pain for the last nine and a half holes.
“I couldn’t hit a proper shot and it became more painful,” said Harrington. “It felt terrible chipping and putting as well.”
He received treatment on the course and went for more last night in the hope of being fit to face defending champion Ernie Els in their 36-hole semi-final today.
Harrington was three-up with 10 to play when he pulled his drive close to the tree, but he thought he was far enough from it that his follow-through would not make contact.
But it did and he winced in agony as he realised his right thumb had taken the impact.
“I put some ice on it, but couldn’t do it again because I would have lost all feeling,” he added.
“It felt like I was hitting with a shovel rather than a golf club. I told myself ‘you can’t hit a full shot, so just poke it down the fairway’. I wasn’t even trying to hit the greens - just somewhere where I could get up and down.
“It was a pretty sharp pain. I couldn’t put a tee peg in with it and it just became more painful.
“I was not even aware of the tree. I thought I had loads of room. But it was just a question of getting on with it with pokes and prods. I was feeling pretty sorry for myself, though, when I hit it 100 yards right on the 13th.”
At the par-four 16th he took the thumb off the club altogether for his three-wood tee shot but blasted that way right into the trees as well.
Harrington had two accidents with trees during the day. On the third hole against Levet his four-iron was broken playing a shot and he had to send it off for repairs. Unfortunately, he could not do the same with his thumb.
Levet had come back from six down and when Harrington double-bogeyed the 16th the gap was down to one.
However, the Frenchman failed to birdie the long 17th and the one he made on the 531-yard last was not enough. Harrington was just short of the green in two and two-putted for victory.
The other semi-final is between Lee Westwood and either Ryder Cup captain Bernhard Langer or another of his triumphant team, Miguel Angel Jimenez. The Spaniard led by three with eight to play when the game was cut short because of fading light.
Earlier in the day Langer had put out world number one Vijay Singh at the first extra hole.
After beating Open champion Todd Hamilton in one of seven first round games carried over from Thursday, Lee Westwood added the notable scalp of United States Open champion Retief Goosen.
Twenty four hours after Goosen had set a new tournament record with his 12 and 11 hammering of Jeff Maggert, the South African was on the receiving end, falling five down before eventually losing two and one.
Westwood does not yet know who is next in his firing line, however, but it will not be world number one and reigning US PGA champion Vijay Singh as he might have expected.
“I thought I would have to work my way through the major champions,” he said.
But Singh was knocked out by Langer at the 37th hole of a thrilling duel. Because that went on so long Langer’s quarter-final with Jimenez, was always likely to spill into today.
Els overcame Scott Drummond two and one and then Angel Cabrera with a nine-foot putt on the last. “I knew it was going to be tough and it was,” commented Els. “It was a see-saw battle all day. I hit a good one down the 17th after this morning’s fiasco. At least I had some practice.”
He has now won 20 out of 24 games in the event.
Langer’s victory over Singh inevitably took pride of place on the resumption of the first round yesterday.
The German was three up with four to play, lost the next three to birdies, but won at the first extra hole - the 571-yard 17th - by reaching the green in two and two-putting for birdie.
“It reminded me of that old Bible story when little David beat Goliath. That’s how I felt,” said Langer.
“Obviously he’s not happy. I wouldn’t be happy if I’d lost. He was the hot favourite, but I am always tremendously motivated and 100% professional. I knew my chances would be small, but wherever I play I play to win.”
Singh stated: “To be honest I didn’t play well enough to win. Bernhard didn’t make a mistake and I just left it too late.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
