Pádraig Harrington: ‘What gets me up in the morning is another major’

Harrington feels he has little to prove but is still driven by the dream of majors

Pádraig Harrington during the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Pro-Am at Mount Juliet in Thomastown, Kilkenny. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

A relaxed Pádraig Harrington feels like he will be starting his 26th Dubai Duty Free Irish Open this week with house money as a former champion with little to prove.

The pressure to perform in his national open fell from Harrington’s shoulders when he claimed victory at Adare in 2007 but eight weeks short of his 50th birthday, the Dubliner will tee it up at Mount Juliet in Thursday’s opening round buoyed by his tie for fourth at the PGA Championship in May and still dreaming of adding another major championship victory to his tally.