Pádraig eyes jet-set lifestyle

PÁDRAIG Harrington is this week closer than ever to buying his own private jet.

The globe-trotting golfer has been contemplating such a move for some time and after travel difficulties in getting from Philadelphia to Memphis on Monday, saw at first hand just how comfortable private transport could be when he was given a “lift” by South African Retief Goosen.

Harrington and Goosen stopped off on their way to Memphis for this week’s St Jude Championship to play an exhibition in Philadelphia against Jim Furyk and Charles Howell III. The golf match and clinic were staged on behalf of the oil company Exxon, one of Furyk’s sponsors, and resulted in a resounding win for the “Rest of the World” side.

Harrington was five under for his first 11 holes and he and Goosen a combined nine under after 13 before finally seeing off Furyk and Howell at the 17th.

A disruption to the ongoing flight to Memphis could have caused the Harringtons countless problems. But Goosen stepped in to offer them seats on his private plane and they flew into Elvis Presley country in the height of luxury!

“Pádraig hasn’t placed an order as yet but after the troubles we had at the airport and appreciating the comfort of Retief’s plane, well, it sounds an even better idea than ever,” said his wife Caroline from her Memphis hotel where the temperatures were around the 98 degrees mark.

While private air travel is relatively commonplace on the US PGA Tour, that is still not the case in Europe although Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke do share the use of a jet.