Harrington shows eastern promise
A blanket could be thrown over the current crop of top 10 players with just 2.85 ranking points covering Lee Westwood at No. 1 to Graeme McDowell at number 10.
After peaking at number three last year, Harrington has slumped back to number 19. However, the downturn in form of Tiger Woods has seen the rankings bunch so much that there is just 4.30 points separating Harrington from Westwood.
Harrington took a big step in improving his current standing when he signed for a two-under par round of 70 and a four-under par total after the second day’s play in Shanghai.
Italian Francesco Molinari continues to lead the tournament, finishing with a 70 to move to nine-under par and one clear of Westwood (70). Three players, Scotland’s Richie Ramsay (68) and the South African pair of Ernie Els (65) and Jaco Van Zyl (66) are tied for third.
Harrington, along with Tiger Woods (72), Phil Mickelson (71) and England’s Ian Poulter (70), is among a group of nine sharing ninth.
If Harrington were to capture this week’s event, he would move up to around the number 13 spot and if the qualified accountant has his maths right, he will go to No. 1 if he wins his next four events.
“It may seem strange but now that I am 19th in the world, I am actually closer to being No. 1 than when I was ranked number three,” he said. “When I was number three, I was 12 tournament wins away from No. 1 but now I’m only four wins away from it — on the understanding you receive a point for each win, which makes what’s happening now pretty exciting.”
Harrington capped his second round when he drilled his 196-yard second shot to within 12 feet of the 18th hole for an eagle three. He also had birdies at the fifth, seventh and 16th, though three bogeys marred his round.
“It was nice to eagle the last, but it was a pretty similar round to Thursday with a lot of missed chances,” he admitted. “I feel my game is pretty close. I’m just not getting it quite right as there were a few shots I hit where maybe I was half a club out.
“Another week playing like this, if I was playing well enough on the greens, I would be two or three shots better off and right in the mix. I see good stuff going forward plus that win last month is a big boost.”
Rory McIlroy is two shots further back with a pair of 71s for a two-under par tally but for the second consecutive day McIlroy had to take three penalty shots. McIlroy was on two-under for his round when his drive ended up against a tree at the 10th, forcing him to take a drop en route to bogey.
He found water with his drive at the 14th for a second bogey, but managed to save par at the last despite landing his second shot three feet short of the green and watching it roll back into water.
“Despite the three penalty shots, I feel this is the best I’ve been playing for some time,” he said. “I just need to get on that run where you can get a bit of momentum going.”
McDowell, playing with Woods and Els, heads into the weekend in a share for 47th at one over.
“I am playing a lot more positively, hitting more fairways and a lot of quality iron shots,” he said, “but playing with Tiger and Ernie has certainly created a lot of intensity and I’ve enjoyed playing with them.”
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