Harrington joint third as McIlroy’s woes continue in Miami

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON finished in a tie for third behind winner Ernie Els and his South African compatriot Charl Schwartzel at the WGC-CA Championship in Miami last night.

Harrington shot a final round 72 to finish on 11 under, alongside Matt Kuchar and Martin Kaymer.

Els fired a final round 64 for an 18 under total and finished four shots clear of Schwartzel.

Rory McIlroy is spending the next three days at Augusta after finishing a desperately disappointing week in Miami with a third successive 73 and a seven-over total.

Graeme McDowell finished on a high, however, shooting a final round of six-under 66.

McIlroy has been battling the recurrence of a back problem for the last six weeks, but at least that was better in his final round.

He then headed off to see the Miami Heat basketball team for the second time in three days and joked: “It’s about the only thing that’s making me smile.

“I just didn’t have it and haven’t had it for the last couple of weeks. I’ve a few issues to sort out when I get home.

“The back isn’t worrying me, but it’s getting me down.”

Meanwhile, American Tour boss Tim Finchem anticipates that the wait for Tiger Woods to announce his comeback date will be over “pretty soon”.

“I’m as excited as everybody else to see him back I hope this spring, but my sense is we’ll know pretty soon,” said Finchem in Miami yesterday.

“Everybody’s done looking back at the circumstances that resulted in him stepping away from the game and (are) now focused on when he’s going to play golf. I think that’s good. I think that means people are paying attention to what he said.

“It’s going to be huge when he comes back and it’s going to be an interesting thing – how he re-enters the game, how he plays, how he deals with the reaction to his statement.

“But I do feel this huge change in the atmosphere because of what he said. “I was impressed not only about him talking about personal issues, but about talking about the game, a renewed respect.”

In his February 19 public appearance Woods, out of action since November because of a sex scandal, stated: “I do plan to return to golf one day, I just don’t know when that day will be.

“I don’t rule out that it will be this year. When I do return, I need to make my behaviour more respectful of the game.”

The indications are he is planning a return in the Masters on April 8-11, although the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando starting on March 25 has not yet been ruled out.