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!

“It’s not a question of where I finished at the US Open when I had a chance of winning but I still made a significant change the following week,” he stated.

“I completely changed my takeaway. So it’s going to catch up with me, as it did at the end of last week and might catch up with this week. That’s just who I am. I’ll always be tinkering and changing and things like that. But I’m happy with how I’m hitting the ball. I have been for a while.

“I just haven’t putted as well as I would have in years gone by. But, hey, I’m in good stead, solid. I’m definitely hitting it better off the tee. So I put a few different shots into my game that I feel really good about.”

It is easy to understand how people become confused by a lot of what Harrington has had to say over the years. I’ve been as close to him as most over the years and often left his side scratching my head as to understand much of what he had to say. But as he says with that rueful smile: “That’s who I am”.

However, as far as the 27,000 odd fans who flocked into Royal Portrush yesterday were concerned, his popularity levels are as high as ever and he was deeply appreciative of the support he received, even though one of his partners was Portrush native Graeme McDowell.

“To be cheered as I was out there, even though I was taking on G-Mac in his own backyard, was enough to warm the cockles of the heart,” he said.

“We had good fun, Simon [Dyson] and myself, we really enjoyed ourselves. We were very relaxed — but remember, it is only Thursday.”

McDowell was on very much the same wavelength as he praised the fans for “really getting behind the tournament and there were great receptions for Pádraig and even Dys on every green today.”

Just about everyone at Portrush yesterday was aware that the Royal & Ancient, the people who run the British Open, were watching developments. They would certainly have been impressed with the size of the crowd and their knowledge of the game.

“At 7.50am, the weather was only fit for being in bed and there was a huge crowd out there at that time,” said Harrington. “It was akin to what you would see on a Sunday afternoon at an Irish Open. And, yeah, I think the golf course and the venue and the people and everything about it would make Portrush a great venue for the Open Championship.

“Obviously, I suppose there’s more to it than just that. They can have a look at how they move people around the course and there are a number of tight spots to fit a lot of people through. But the venue and the course really are awesome. It’s a joy to play this golf course. It’s got a lot of testing golf shots but it also gives you something. It rewards a good shot, you feel, if I hit a good shot here, I’m able to make birdie.”

While agreeing that the R&A would definitely turn the short par five ninth and 10th into fours with an overall par of 70 for an Open Championship, Harrington stressed: “I prefer playing the most difficult golf course made easy for the pros rather an easy course made tricky for us. I don’t like tricky golf courses.”

Portrush could never be considered in that light and that’s one good reason why Harrington has his sights set on a second Irish Open victory on Sunday evening.