Pádraig Harrington locked in major battle against the clock

Pádraig Harrington returns to the majors this week at Whistling Straits for the first time since last month’s Open near miss, fighting both the pain of a knee injury and the sense the clock is ticking on his ability to add to his title haul.

The 2008 PGA Championship win at Oakland Hills near Detroit was Harrington’s third and most recent major victory but a win on the PGA Tour at the Honda Classic in March as well contending at St Andrews in The Open in July, when he led the tournament he won in ‘07 and ‘08 during the final round, have confirmed to a wider audience the golfer’s self-belief he has another big success story to realise.

The Irishman is 44 on August 31 and by his own definition having turned pro in 1995, at the upper limit of the 20 years on tour he believes is the end point of many elite playing careers.

“I believe I can do it with my normal game. Whether I do it or don’t (win), I have to convince myself of that,” Harrington said.

“I have more clubhead speed now than I ever had in my career. I’d be more worried about a 20-year career than age, so if you start at 18, you’re finished at 38. If you start at 24, you’re finished at 44. I’d be more worried about that.”

All of which feeds into his feeling that the knee trouble he suffered playing tennis with his children can not, however discomforting, prevent him from playing this week in Wisconsin.

“If I had to have a crutch and a little seat to sit on between shots I’d be playing,” he said. “I believe I have another 10 years of being competitive, but I’m running out of time rather than not.

“Just trying to find the right attitude, trying to work and not worry about the outcome, trying to be more accepting of missing. Golf is always a game of mistakes and managing making mistakes and I obviously have been a great putter throughout my career but I am definitely wanting not to miss more than ever.

“I am happy with my Open performance, I have no problem. I was very comfortable through 59 holes that’s exactly where, if I play the next number of majors and after 59 holes I am that comfortable in that situation... I wasn’t out, I hadn’t holed everything, I hadn’t played majestic and yet I was still leading. That’s a nice feeling, to feel like you can be leading an Open and leading and feel like you can win a major well within yourself is exactly how I was when I was winning my majors, so that’s a good place to be.”

His knee, alas, is not in so good a place and Harrington admitted he would not be playing this week if this was not a major.

“It is probably a tear in the meniscus, or the cartilage.

“I have had an injection to dull the pain, because the problem was starting to badly affect how I was walking.

“My peroneus (muscles) in the right leg were starting to the hurt and the calf in my left leg were starting to hurt because I was limping, so I had to stop limping or I was going to have other problems.

“So the injection was just to get rid of the pain so I could walk properly and so not do other damage.”

Harrington said he did not experience too much pain at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last week, although he did struggle to a tie for 70th. As ever, it will be a case of mind over matter at the Pete Dye-designed monster that is the 7,501-yard Whistling Straits.

“It will be a long walk, I just putted for an hour and 20 minutes and it started to get sore at the end. Putting puts a bit of strain on it. I am happy with my tee to green, wedge play isn’t good and putting isn’t good, so those are the two areas where I have to find something.

“I think here I would like to find myself in the same state of mind as did at the Open and tee to green and putting-wise, that’s probably the main thin, just to get the right attitude on the greens.”