Enthusiastic fans pile pressure on people’s champion Pádraig

IT meant that Harrington’s three under par total was essentially an unreachable target for the first round leaders; today he goes out in the last match for the first time in eleven Irish Open appearances enjoying a one stroke advantage and with the whole country willing him to complete the operation through the weekend.

“I know that the oohs and aahs of the people are because the fans want you to do well,” he accepts. “You can definitely sense their disappointment and even amazement at times if you miss a short putt or hit a poor shot. You’ll hear things like, how could he have done that sort of thing and you’re going, well it’s not that easy out here. I used to think they didn’t realise that but I know now it’s down to the enthusiasm of the people.

“It does add pressure, no doubt about it. Again, you have to take as much as you can from it and be disciplined enough not to worry about the crowd’s reaction if you do miss a short putt. You know, we do miss short putts. This is my Open, my national championship, and it’s number five on my wish list after the four majors.”