R&A membership eases pain for Harrington
BALLYMENA, NORTHERN IRELAND - SEPTEMBER 25: Padraig Harrington of Ireland chips onto the 14th green during Day Two of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Galgorm Spa & Golf Resort on September 25, 2020 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
Pádraig Harrington looked certain to miss the halfway cut after a rusty 75 but he was still smiling after accepting honorary membership of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews.
The Ryder Cup captain (49) bogeyed the 18th to finish on six-over par after an erratic performance in his first tour start for six and a half months.
But the former R&A Ambassador and two-time Open champion could only smile after joining fellow major champions Catriona Matthew, Ernie Els and Nick Price as a member of the Royal and Ancient, bringing a long relationship “full circle.”
“It is a huge thrill for me,” Harrington said. “It’s a great honour for somebody like myself who loves the etiquette and the rules and everything about the traditions of the game.
“It means a lot to me. I have had close ties with the R&A over the years, obviously winning the Open Championship capped that off. I would have played on R&A teams from 17 years of age and I have been an ambassador for them so I am thrilled.
“It has gone full circle now and I am obviously flattered to be included with the names who were named there with me today – some great pros over the years. It’s a really nice accolade.”
Harrington bogeyed the first but birdied the fourth before his short game started to let him down.
After three putting from six feet for bogey at the eighth, he failed to chop and putt for birdie at the long 10th, then followed three bogeys in a row from the 11th with another bogey at the 16th.
He birdied the 17th from 12 feet to get back to five-over but took four to get down from the right right rough at the par-five 18th, his par putt from 15 feet doing a 360-degree tour of the lip before staying out.
“It is a pity, going to be one too many by the looks of it. I played a lot better, didn’t take my chances early on and then got some swirling winds and didn’t chip very well, so I played a lot better than the score but these things happen.
“I’m not going to get down on it. It is one week, I quite enjoyed playing, I saw some nice things in my game, and I know exactly what I need to do.
“I did some good stuff at times. I will always take positives from it. My short game was poor, which is normally my strength, and that can be expected from not being out playing. I second guessed myself a few times on a few shots and that is the sort of thing that goes away when you don’t play.”
While he will likely play the Scottish Open and the BMW PGA over the next fortnight, he admits his schedule is a moveable feast due to Covid-19 and may wait until next year to take up his PGA Tour card.
“I will play a full schedule. Obviously depending on outside influences at the moment but we have to wait and see, I still have my card over in the States, whether I want to go over and travel there I don’t know, but there are a lot of things up in the air at the moment,” he said.
As for his week in Ballymena, he added: "I played a lot better than the score but these things happen. It was fine, there was some good stuff at times. I'd always take positives from it.
"My short game was poor, which normally is my strength, so that could be expected when you've just not been out playing. I second guessed myself on a few shots a few times and that's the sort of thing that goes away with playing.”
Greystones’ Paul Dunne started with two birdies but carded a 74 to finish in nine-over, two shots better than his former Walker Cup team mate Gavin Moynihan, who shot 77, and Holywood amateur Tom McKibbin (17), who carded a 78.
Co Down man Cormac Sharvin finished on 17-over after a 74.
