Pádraig Harrington
 |
|
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Birth | August 31 1971 Dublin, Ireland |
| Height | m ( ft) |
| Weight | 83 kg (182 lb) |
| Nationality |  Ireland |
| Residence | Dublin, Ireland |
| Career | |
| Turned Pro | 1995 |
| Tours | European Tour (joined 1996) PGA Tour (joined 2005) |
| Professional wins | 20 (European Tour: 12, PGA Tour: 3 (including 1 co-sanctioned with the European Tour); Other: 6) |
| Best Results in Major Championships Wins: 1 |
|
| Masters | T5: 2002 |
| U.S. Open | 5th/T5: 2000, 2006 |
| The Open | Won 2007 |
| PGA Championship | T17: 2002 |
| Awards | |
| European Tour Order of Merit | 2006 |
Pádraig Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer and currently the highest ranked European in the world rankings, at No. 7. He has won tournaments on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He won the 2007 Open Championship, in which he defeated Sergio García in a four-hole playoff by one stroke. In doing so, he became the first European to win a major since Paul Lawrie won the same tournament in 1999, at the same venue (Carnoustie in Angus, Scotland).
Career
Harrington was born in Ballyroan, Dublin, Ireland. His father was Paddy Harrington, a Garda (Irish police officer) who played Gaelic football for Cork. After a successful amateur career, including winning the Walker Cup with the Great Britain & Ireland team in 1995, Harrington turned professional later that year, joining the European Tour in 1996.
His first victory came quickly, in the 1996 Spanish Open, but for the next few years the most remarkable thing about his career was the number of times he finished second in European Tour events without ever bettering that position, including four second places in five events in late 1999. However in 2000 he discovered a winning touch, and he had at least one win on the European Tour each year from then up to 2004. He has finished in the top ten on the European Tour's Order of Merit seven times, including second places in 2001 and 2002 and third places in 2003 and 2004 and eventually won the Order of Merit in 2006.
Harrington's 2006 European Order of Merit win came after a titanic battle with Paul Casey and David Howell which was won on the last hole of the last event. Sergio García bogeyed the 72nd hole in the season ending Volvo Masters to give Harrington a share of second place which earned him enough money to leapfrog Paul Casey to 1st place on the Order of Merit. (list).
From around 2000, Harrington appeared with increasing frequency in the U.S. at the majors and World Golf Championships events, and as a sponsor's invitee. He won his first professional event in the U.S. at the Target World Challenge, a non-PGA Tour event hosted by Tiger Woods in 2002. In both 2003 and 2004 he was the runner up in the prestigious Players Championship, and in the latter year he won enough money on the PGA Tour as a non-member to earn an invitation to the end of season Tour Championship. He took membership of the PGA Tour for 2005 and in March he won his first PGA Tour official money event at the Honda Classic, where he beat Vijay Singh and Joe Ogilvie in a sudden death playoff. Later that June, Harrington snatched the Barclays Classic from Jim Furyk with a spectacular 65-foot eagle putt on the final hole in the final round for his second PGA Tour win.
Harrington has spent a considerable amount of time both in the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings and as the highest ranked European golfer, his best ranking being sixth. He has also played for Europe in four Ryder Cups; losing in 1999 but winning in 2002, 2004 and 2006.Harrington has also won the par-3 contest at the Augusta National Golf Club.
On July 22nd 2007 Harrington became the first Irishman to win The Open Championship in 60 years, when he defeated Sergio García in a four hole playoff at Carnoustie. Both players went into the play off having shot a 7 under 277 for the championship, Harrington subsequently winning by one shot. Upon seeing the Claret Jug, Harrington's son Patrick was captured on camera saying "Can we put ladybirds in it?".
Personal life
Harrington has been married to his wife Caroline since 1997 and has a son, Patrick, born in 2003. Caroline is expecting a second child, due at the end of 2007.
He is a distant cousin of 1995 World Series of Poker champion and author Dan Harrington and NFL Quarterback Joey Harrington.[1]
Golf equipment
- Driver:Wilson Staff Dd6+
- Woods: Wilson Staff Fw6 Fairway #5-wood
- Hybrids: Wilson Staff Fh6 Hybrid (19°)
- Irons: Wilson Staff Pi5 Irons #3-PW
- Wedges: Wilson Staff TW7 wedges (52° and 60°)
- Putter: Odyssey White Hot 2-Ball Blade
- Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
- Glove: Titleist
- Shoes: Hi-Tec CDT Super Power Tour
- Bag: Wilson Staff Tour Bag
Amateur wins (4)
- 1991 Sherry Cup
- 1994 West of Ireland Amateur
- 1995 Irish Amateur Open Championship, Irish Amateur Closed Championship
Professional wins (20)
European Tour wins (12)
|
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runners up |
| 1. | May 12, 1996 | Peugeot Spanish Open | -16 (70-64-67-71=272) | 4 strokes |  Gordon Brand Jnr. |
| 2. | April 2, 2000 | Brazil Sao Paulo 500 Years Open | -14 (69-68-65-68=270) | 2 strokes |  Gerry Norquist |
| 3. | October 22, 2000 | BBVA Open Turespaña Masters Comunidad de Madrid | -21 (67-64-66-70=267) | 2 strokes | Gary
Orr |
| 4. | November 11, 2001 | Volvo Masters Andalucia | -12 (67-71-66=204) | 1 stroke | Paul McGinley |
| 5. | October 6, 2002 | Dunhill Links Championship | -19 (66-66-68-69=269) | Playoff1 |  Eduardo Romero |
| 6. | November 24, 2002 | BMW Asian Open | -15 (66-70-68-69=273) | 1 stroke |  Jyoti
Randhawa |
| 7. | May 18, 2003 | Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe | -19 (65-66-70-68=269) | Playoff2 |  Thomas Bjørn |
| 8. | December 7, 2003 | Omega Hong Kong Open | -13 (66-75-64-70=275) | 1 stroke |  Hennie Otto |
| 9. | September 12, 2004 | Linde German Masters | -11 (67-69-67-66=269) | 3 strokes |  Nick O'Hern |
| 10. | October 8, 2006 | Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | -17 (66-69-68-68=271) | 5 strokes |  Bradley Dredge, Edward Loar,  Anthony Wall |
| 11. | May 20, 2007 | Irish Open | -5 (73-68-71-71=283) | Playoff3 | Bradley Dredge |
| 12. | July 22, 2007 | The Open Championship | -7 (69-73-68-67=277) | Playoff4 |  Sergio
García |
1Beat Eduardo Romero with birdie on second extra hole
2Beat Thomas Bjorn with a par on first extra hole
3Beat Bradley Dredge with par on first extra hole
4Shot 15 (3-3-4-5) in a four hole playoff to defeat Sergio García (5-3-4-4=16)
PGA Tour wins (3)
|
| No. | Date | Tournament | Winning Score | Margin of Victory | Runners up |
| 1. | March 13, 2005 | Honda Classic | -14 (73-69-69-63=274) | Playoff1 |  Vijay
Singh |
| 2. | June 26, 2005 | Barclays Classic | -10 (71-65-68-70=274) | 1 stroke |
Jim Furyk |
| 3. | July 22, 2007 | The Open Championship | -7 (69-73-68-67=277) | Playoff2 | Sergio
García |
1Beat Vijay Singh with Par on second extra hole (Joe Ogilvie was eliminated on 1st hole when he made bogey)
2Shot 15 (3-3-4-5) in a four hole playoff to defeat Sergio García (5-3-4-4=16)
Other wins (6)
- 1998 Irish PGA Championship
- 2002 Target World Challenge presented by Williams (unofficial money PGA Tour-sanctioned event)
- 2004 Irish PGA Championship
- 2005 Irish PGA Championship
- 2006 Dunlop Phoenix Tournament (Japan Golf Tour)
- 2007 Irish PGA Championship
Major championships
Wins (1)
| Year | Championship | 54 Holes | Winning Score | Margin | Runners Up |
| 2007 | The Open Championship | 6 shot deficit | -7 (69-73-68-67=277) | Playoff1 | Sergio
García |
1 Defeated Sergio García in four-hole playoff by 1 stroke: Harrington (3-3-4-5=15), García (5-3-4-4=16)
Results timeline
| Tournament | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | DNP | DNP | DNP | DNP |
| U.S. Open | DNP | CUT | T32 | DNP |
| The Open Championship | T18 | T5 | CUT | 29 |
| PGA Championship | DNP | CUT | DNP | DNP |
| Tournament | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Masters | T19 | T27 | T5 | CUT | T13 | CUT | T27 | T7 |
| U.S. Open | T5 | T30 | T8 | T10 | T31 | CUT | 5 | CUT |
| The Open Championship | T20 | T37 | T5 | T22 | CUT | DNP | CUT | 1 |
| PGA Championship | T58 | CUT | T17 | T29 | T45 | CUT | CUT | T42 |
DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied for place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.
Team appearances
Amateur
- Walker Cup: 1991, 1993, 1995 (winners)
Professional
- Ryder Cup: 1999, 2002 (winners), 2004 (winners), 2006 (winners)
- Alfred Dunhill Cup: 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
- World Cup: 1996, 1997 (winner with Paul McGinley), 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
- The Seve Trophy: 2000, 2002 (winners), 2003 (winners), 2005 (winners)
Trivia
 |
Trivia sections are discouraged under
Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Harrington is the only player in the world to have been partnered with Tiger Woods in a tournament five or more times and to outscore him. Harrington has a 68.83 average in six rounds, compared with Woods' average score of 69.50. The rest of the world's top players averaged over 70.
- Harrington had received permission from the European Tour to putt without his left shoe, on condition that he neither delays play when removing the shoe, nor stands on it when playing the ball.[2]. The golfer was claimed to be using this technique to help him put more weight through his left leg while practising. This decision was then overturned, ruling that he was not allowed to do it during tournament play.
- First man from the Republic of Ireland to win a golf major.
- Harrington is coached by Bob Torrance, the father of former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance.
- Holds a degree in accounting.
- Pádraig is an Irish language version of the name Patrick. It is a common name in Ireland and is pronounced IPA /pˠaːd̪ˠɾʲəɟ/ "Pawd-rig".
References
- ^ Spousta, Tom. "Padraig Harrington goes clubbin' in USA", USA Today, 2005-03-03.
- ^ (London) Metro, 29th September 2006, page 57
See also
External links
| Official World Golf Rankings | Top ten male golfers as of October 14 2007 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| 2004 European Ryder Cup Squad |
|---|
| Paul Casey · Darren Clarke · Luke Donald · Sergio García · Pádraig Harrington · David Howell · Miguel Ángel Jiménez · Bernhard Langer (captain) · Thomas Levet · Paul McGinley · Colin Montgomerie · Ian Poulter · Lee Westwood |
| 2006 European Ryder Cup Squad |
|---|
|
Paul Casey · Darren Clarke · Luke Donald · Sergio García · Pádraig Harrington · David Howell · Robert Karlsson · Paul McGinley · Colin Montgomerie · José María Olazábal · Henrik Stenson · Lee Westwood · Ian Woosnam (captain) |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Mick McCarthy |
RTÉ Sports Personality
of the Year 2002 |
Succeeded by Barry Geraghty |
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