Harrington on Lowry’s club snap: "If you want to break all 14 clubs, fine, as long as you don't damage the course or interfere”
HOYLAKE, ENGLAND - JULY 17: Shane Lowry of Ireland looks on prior to The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 17, 2023 in Hoylake, England. (Photo by Stuart Kerr/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
Pádraig Harrington has defended Shane Lowry for breaking a club in frustration en route to missing the cut in The Open at Hoylake.
The Offaly man received criticism on social media for snapping a club behind his neck en route to a six-over 77 that saw him miss the cut by four shots.
"I haven't seen it," Harrington said with a grin, clearly resting all importance from the incident. "Was it a good break?"
He went on: "I've changed completely my whole idea that any player who wants to vent a bit frustration on themselves I have no problem as long as they don't damage the golf course or get in anybody's way.
"Shane didn't do either of those, so I've no problem at all. If you want to break all 14 clubs, fine. As long as you don't damage the course or interfere.
"And to be honest, I don't think a player getting upset once or twice doesn't interfere at all. Maybe if somebody's at it all day... I think generally, if somebody is doing that, I have a bit of a laugh about it. As long as it was an athletic break, I have no problem with it."
Of course, Harrington has never so much as thrown a club, let alone break one.
"No, I've never thrown a club. It wasn't allowed."
The Dubliner (51) made the cut on the mark, but he had to make two birdies in his last four holes to card a two-over 73 that left him joint 69th on five-over.
He remains frustrated by his lack of luck on the greens, and while he will bid for the Senior Open at Royal Porthcawl next week, he plans to add the D+D Real Czech Masters in Prague and the Omega European Masters in Crans Sur Sierre to his schedule in an attempt to win a DP World Tour event and push his way into the reckoning for one of Luke Donald's six wildcards for the Ryder Cup in Rome.
He felt he needed two big weeks in the Scottish Open and The Open to contend for a captain's pick and admits that right now, he's nowhere near consideration, even after making the cut in the three majors he's played this year.
"I don't think I've contributed this week at all, I think I needed more than that last weekend and this week," he said. "I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I would think it would be 'no'.
"But I have a few more events, and maybe I can go win one of them and force the issue a bit."
His problem right now is his inconsistency on the greens.
He three-putted the first, then missed four good chances in a row before following a two from nearly 30 feet at the sixth with a double bogey at the 10th and bogeys at the 11th and 14th before picking up shots at the par-five 15th and 18th coming home.
"It was one of those days; I just couldn't get any momentum going," he said. "My game is much steadier at the moment in that there's not a lot of drama going on in it, so there's not going to be so much erratic messiness. It's definitely much steadier. I think if I hole a few putts, then I'll have a good day.”
