Pádraig doing it his way

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON last night admitted that if “I was a footballer, I’d be on the bench right now but because I’m my own boss, I can live my life anyway I want”.

The three-times major champion was referring, of course, to the slump in his fortunes that has seen him drop from 3rd to 11th in the world rankings in less than 12 months and caused him to miss four of his last five cuts. He is rated a 40/1 outsider by bookmakers for this week’s US Open which accurately reflects the current status of a man who went into 2009 seeking what the Americans referred to as “The Paddy Slam” following on his wins last year in the Open and PGA Championships and has failed to deliver, big time, so far.

Predictably enough, though, Harrington wasn’t for apologising or excusing the changes he has been working on his golf swing with coach Bob Torrance and maintained that he has always tinkered with his game in the hope of making things ever better. He insisted that he himself was prepared to be “patient” and implored his supporters to do likewise.