Jet set go for Padraig

By Brian Keogh

Padraig Harrington is all set to join the golf's jet set elite - even if his accountant's brain tells him it makes no sense.

The Dubliner has his heart set on a luxury Gulfstream that could cost him between $45 and $60 million as well as hundreds of thousands in fuel costs.

And while he knows it is a massive extravagance, he reckons it might be worth the financial risk if it improves his chances of winning more Majors.

He said: "Since my first year on tour I have been well sponsored and money has not been an issue.

"But publicly I have said a few times that I am saving to buy a jet. And while there is nothing I could want for financially, you can always find something and a jet would be that something..

"If I had any financial motive left, that would be a little carrot. It would make my golfing life easier and it would make my family life easier.

"So the only financial motive I would have in the game would be to make enough to buy a jet to play better golf."

Harrington confirmed that he is not quite ready yet to stump up the cash and join Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen and Ernie Els in the jet-set stakes.

He spent the week discussing planes with Mickelson as he used the world No 2's laser healing device and discovered that 'Lefty' is planning to sell his G2 and buy a G5 or a G550.

As a two-time Major winner, he also knows that he will be able to cover the cost of running Harrington Airlines as he stands to get a huge wage rise when he re-negotiates almost all his contracts before the end of the year.

He explained: "They are not getting any cheaper, even though the dollar is weak at the moment. There are assets you could invest more wisely in at this point in time.

"It is not going to happen in the next month but a new contract with an existing sponsor could be re-negotiated and ear-marked for the purchase or running of a jet. It would make my golf better and that's why I would do it.

"If you had the money to buy it, you would still borrow to the money to do it and I have spoken to the Bank of Ireland about help with the leasing structure and loans."

Harrington could do with a jet right now as he must fly out to the US for next week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational with is entire family on a commercial airline before jumping on a private jet to take him to Akron.

He said: "I have to take a couple of flights to get out to Akron, there are a pile of us and it will be a stressful day. If it was a private jet, you fly in and out and the stress of it all is immensely relieved.

"I will fly to the states commerically and then privately on. If I was to charter a private plane to Akron from Dublin it would cost $120,000 one way to charter a plane - so that's $240,000. If you owned a plane, the cost would be $30,000 each way."

As a trained accountant, Harrington would almost certainly borrow the money to buy a jet and then look into leasing it out. But like the American billionaire Warren Buffett, he still reckons it is not a justifiable expense.

He said: "It will help you play better golf but it won't be justified financially. Warren Buffet calls his plane The Great Unjustifiable. I don't think I will be able to justify it either."