Harrington refuses to get downbeat

IF one were to search for flaws in Pádraig Harrington’s mental approach to the game of golf, poor course management would figure well down the pecking order.

And yet it was his failure to think the situation out clearly when things were going against him at the par five 16th at Firestone on Sunday that almost certainly cost him victory in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Given that the water protected green was more than 600 yards away and he was leading Tiger Woods by a shot, he hardly needed to play the driver off the tee. And having carved it into the woods on the right, the placement of the recovery rather than the distance he achieved with it was certain to be absolutely crucial. By then, though, Harrington and Woods had been put on the clock and the need to speed things up became an imperative.