Hall of Famer Harrington enjoying new lease of life as senior star
Pádraig Harrington en route to a 64 and a seven-shot win in the TimberTech Championship in Florida
Pádraig Harrington admits that being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame next year helped him stay motivated and win his sixth PGA Tour Champions title for his 38th professional victory worldwide.
The Dubliner (52) held off a final-round challenge from Bernhard Langer and carded a seven-under 64 to win the TimberTech Championship in Florida on Sunday to go into this week's season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship with a chance of winning the overall money title.
“It's really good to get back in the winner's circle, obviously,” Harrington said after winning by seven strokes to claim his second PGA Tour Champions triumph of the season and head to Phoenix Country Club this week ranked third in the standings behind Steve Stricker and Langer for his defence of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.
“That's what the Champions Tour is about - giving us a second chance. And you want to get yourself into contention. And then when you're there, you want to handle the pressure to nerves.
“This is why we do it. This is why I'm still doing it at 52 years of age, for days like this.”
It’s the second time the three-time Major champion has won as a senior since it was announced he will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in June 2024.
The ceremony will take place at the Pinehurst Resort during U.S. Open week next June and he admitted that hearing himself described as a Hall of Famer has given him a new lease of life.
“I do appreciate being announced as a Hall of Famer,” he said at The Old Course at Broken Sound. “Sometimes they announce me as being in the Hall of Fame, sometimes as an inductee for 2024 and I do appreciate it because I want to be with the other guys who are in the Hall of Fame who are here.
“There’s maybe six to nine guys (on the Champions Tour) in the Hall of Fame. And I see their names and I go, oh, I’m there too. I want to be included. So yes, it is. It is a nice little boost every time they say it. It's a nice little pick me up and you feel a few inches taller.”
Winner winner chicken dinner. @ChampionsTour @TimberTechChamp pic.twitter.com/uhzL30BfRv
— Padraig Harrington (@padraig_h) November 5, 2023
Harrington showed all his fighting qualities in the final round, where he extended his one-shot overnight lead to four shots after making six birdies in his first seven holes, then made a six-footer for a bogey at the ninth to take a two-shot lead over Langer into the back nine.
“That was important for winning the tournament,” he said of what might have been a three-shot swing.
“I had a two-shot lead, which was fine. And from there on, I was very focused on battening down the hatches, staying steady, making sure I didn't make any mistakes, you know, happy to make my pars,” he said after playing then back nine in two-under to win with ease on 16-under from Langer and Charlie Wi.
“I probably left a few putts short and the next couple of holes, but I was just making sure to make my pars, making Bernard have to come at me. And then obviously, the last three or four holes I had it won and it was a lot easier to relax, and I birdied three of the last four.”
Harrington has said in the past he now tries to enjoy tour life, and while he’s no longer as obsessive about his preparation, he’s happy to save his energy for days like Sunday.
“Well, I'm too old now for all that,” he said when asked if he did extra practice to learn about the changes made to the venue for his latest win.
“You know, when I was a kid, I would have come out and played, you know, 54 holes of practice and hit every putt and every chip.
“This is the Champions Tour. I can't keep up that pace. So I'm happy to be on this golf course because nobody else had an advantage. So I played the two pro-ams and that was it.
“You know, that was enough for me. You can't do the work you do as a kid and that's why we're on the Champions Tour.
“I can't go out there and roll putts on every green and do all that. That's it. My brain would be fried by the end of the week.
“So I just concentrate and look. I mightn't know one or two things, but if I'm fresh on Sunday, that's good enough for me.”
