Pádraig explains mental approach

THEY dream of donning the famous Green Jacket from childhood and their imaginations wander to the winning putt on Augusta National’s 18th hole during every trip to the practice range.

Yet once a player actually earns as invitation to the Masters, and then becomes a genuine contender, choosing the right moment to visualise that crowning moment of glory becomes a question of timing.

Psychology plays an important part in the way athletes prepare for their performances, and that process intensifies the higher the stakes become.

So ask three-time major winner Pádraig Harrington when he starts to visualise himself in the Green Jacket, the most tangible evidence of a Masters victory, the Irish hero explains there is an awful lot more to envisage before that stage in the process.

“I would do it during the tournament, more likely on Sunday,” Harrington said of that Green Jacket moment.

“But up to that, when it comes to visualising for a Masters, basically every chip shot, bunker shot and iron shot, whatever shot I’m hitting on the range is the shot I have to hit in Augusta. So I’m visualising the shot.

“When I’d be practising my wedges, I’d hit a wedge into every hole on the golf course bar the par-3s.

“If I’m hitting to the front left up the first — it’s not a great idea because obviously I must have chipped out — but I’ve marked out what kind of shot I’ll need to hit that and I know I’m going to be on a downslope and the ball above my feet, so I practise hitting that shot. Then I know if I happen to have a long wedge on 14 it’s probably going to be an upslope so I practise hitting it off an upslope. I visualise the shot, and I visualise a 4-iron back right to the pin on 18 or a 4-iron into the middle of the 11th ... that’s what I do in terms of visualisation.”

Not that Harrington won’t steal a moment of glory in his mind’s eye, just when the time is right.

“On the night before the tournament and all the way through the Sunday, yes, I would visualise Phil (Mickelson) putting the jacket on me and things like that.

“Obviously I wouldn’t be doing it if I was 40th in the tournament; I’d be just trying to get through the day.”

Harrington finished in an encouraging tie for eighth place in his final tournament before heading to Augusta at the Shell Houston Open last Sunday, to put him in the frame as one of those genuine Masters contenders given a solid record of five top-25 finishes in 11 visits up Magnolia Drive, three top-10 finishes and two of those top-fives.

Having experienced the tension of contending down the stretch on the last day of a major, and come out successful three times, there is plenty of knowledge in the memory banks to call upon if the 39-year-old finds himself in similar circumstances this Sunday.

Harrington’s last win, in October at the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia, was his first since landing the 2008 US PGA at Oakland Hills, his third major in 13 months. Yet he admitted his most recent victory would not be the memory he’d turned to if he were to make the turn at Augusta with a chance of victory.

“Johor wasn’t pretty coming down the stretch. It’s always tough to win when you’re not used to being in that position and I certainly wouldn’t be calling on Johor, I’d definitely be looking more to the majors.

“The fact I’ve gone and won them, I relish the opportunity of being in that position.

“So if I can get into contention with nine holes to go, I’m going to look forward to that and actually, it depends on who you’re coming up against but in many instances I’d think I’d have the edge.

“The fact that I’ve done it and proved it in the past and done it in different ways would mean that I’d feel, not comfortable, but certainly aware of the feelings coming down the stretch and definitely that’s the big, important thing. To get myself into that position in a major.

“There’s no doubt in a major it’s easier to win coming down the stretch in a major than in a regular event. So that’s where I’ve got to get to.

“So if I can produce, which is always what I’m trying to do, produce the control and consistency for three and a half rounds, so that I’m in position with nine holes to go. We all know anything can happen over those nine holes but having experienced, having been there and done it I can understand that there’s many ways to win a tournament.”