Nothing fazes Open minded Harrington

Not since Australian Peter Thomson in 1956 has any player completed a hat-trick of wins in the Open Championship. But Pádraig Harrington hasn’t dismissed the possibility of joining golf’s immortals next week. Charlie Mulqueen reports.

PEOPLE who read in the newspapers and listen on radio and television to Pádraig Harrington’s explanations for his miserable form of late must believe the man is in denial. So how is his self belief when it comes to defending the Open.

“My confidence in myself has not taken a hammering at all. I’m still very upbeat and very focused on what I’m doing and very positive and optimistic. Over the years, I’ve made very sure to focus on process rather than results, but when you have a lean span of results over a period of time, you definitely get a little bit more conscious of them.”