Tinkerman in the swing

Tinkerman is alive and well and sitting pretty after the first round of the Irish Open at Portrush.

The many who were happy to see Pádraig Harrington claim top eight finishes in the first two majors of the season, the Masters and US Open, may have been led to believe that the 40-year-old was at long last happy with the state of the game. After all, a birdie at the 18th would have put him into a play-off at the Olympic Club a fortnight ago and even though he ran up a bogey taking on a treacherous pin position, a share of fourth showed his game is back to where he wanted it.

However, those of us annoyed when Pádraig started changing his swing after winning the US PGA Championship in 2008, were more than a little taken aback yesterday when he readily confessed his days of tinkering were far from over!