Inside Golf: Pádraig Harrington triggered Ireland ambition

Confidence is key. Just ask Pádraig Harrington, who shot four sub-par rounds in Italy last week and still finished a modest 33rd in the Italian Open.

On the face of it, this looks like an ordinary result for a player whose career is tapering off. But for Harrington, it may well be very significant as he battles to regain that unshakeable confidence that made him a three-time major winner.

“I have continued to work on playing with more confidence and I have to say that I like it,” he wrote to his Facebook followers before the event in Milan. “It is something that over time I have lost, but now that I have realised it and am aware of it, I can change it.