Harrington takes time out - at last

Padraig Harrington is finally going to listen to what his body – and his physiotherapist – has been telling him - up to a point, anyway.

After the 24th runners-up finish of his career in the Irish Open last night, Harrington acknowledged he needed to rest rather than fit in another tournament before the US PGA Championship in two weeks’ time.

“I think I am a hair’s breadth away from breaking down physically,” said the Dubliner, beaten by four shots by Australian Brett Rumford at County Louth.

“I would say at the moment it’s like a tightrope and the threads are falling one by one. I have one thread left, so I need to rest before I do myself a six-week injury.”

Harrington suffered neck and shoulder trouble in the run-up to the British Open Championship at Royal Troon – he missed the halfway cut there – and had a recurrence of it during one warm-up session last week.

“I am pushing it. Dale Richardson has been saying it for a while, but it is hard to listen as he gets me back in shape and back out there.”

Two weeks off it is then, but Harrington, being the workaholic that he is, will not be putting his feet up totally.

“If I take two weeks off I can take a week without practising, but I’ll have two weeks in the gym, which would be nice.”

The lesson of this latest near-miss – his fourth this season to add to the 20 that came before – was that he needs to get himself mentally sharper.

Harrington blamed poor concentration for bad starts on the first three days and with 27 holes to go he was 11 strokes adrift.

Then came nine birdies in the next 12 holes, but he could never get on terms and while his closing 67 equalled the low round of the day, Rumford was one of those to match it.

The victory came two days before the Perth golfer’s 27th birthday and he can really celebrate it now because he also came from the depths of 103rd on the European Order of Merit and 267th on the world rankings. Harrington is eighth.

Rumford won the Australian amateur title in 1998 and the following season captured the Australasian Tour’s Players Championship before he had even made the switch to the paid ranks.

His only success between that and this, though, was the St Omer Open in France last year and that was with all the big names away at the US Open.

“I’m as proud as punch – mentally drained, but burning inside,” he said after completing the tournament on 14 under par.

“Your stomach grinds the whole day and I certainly felt the pinch, but there’s no feeling quite like winning.”

Sharing second spot with Harrington was Raphael Jacquelin, who with that keeps alive the possibility of three Frenchmen in the Ryder Cup team in September.

Scottish Open champion Thomas Levet lies sixth with a month to go and Jean-Francois Remesy and Jacquelin are just outside a top-10 automatic position.

The race moves on now to Sweden for the Scandinavian Masters starting on Thursday.