Padraig Harrington - Blog

Padraig Harrington - HP Byron Nelson Championship

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:14:27 +0100

HP Byron Nelson Championship - Review
I finished in a tie for 44th at the HP Byron Nelson Classic, which is certainly not where I was looking to finish going there or to any other tournament for that matter. However when I was four over par with 13 holes to play on Friday I would have taken it, though having then made the cut I am disappointed not to have moved up the leaderboard more, especially on Sunday, as I played very well and gave myself plenty of good chances for birdies. I went there knowing that I had a lot of work to do on my focus and routines as they had been poor in Sawgrass the week before. During practice I spent a great deal of time working on this area - I figured out a few things early in the week that would help but as with any change it takes time. I felt very uncomfortable on the course with it during the week but I could see the benefit.

When I finished on Friday I was hopeful of making the cut but I knew it would be tight. I had finished on level par after shooting two rounds of level par. To shoot level par was actually a very good effort as I had two treble bogeys, after hitting it out of bounds both times. My first round was going nicely until the 14th and 15th - I was two under par going into these holes and two over coming out of them - I bogeyed the 14th and then trebled the 15th by hitting my second shot out of bounds. At two under par I was doing fine but at two over I was well outside the cut, then when I failed to birdie the sixteenth I was quite annoyed with myself. Thankfully I had a big finish by making a birdie 2 on the 17th and then chipping in for a birdie on the last to shoot level par.

My second round went a little different - I started on the 10th and after a treble bogey on the 12th and then a bogey on the 14th I was four over for the tournament and really struggling. I was hitting it all over the place and feeling very uncomfortable with my routine, not what you want when you need to shoot four under for the rest of the holes to make the cut. However, I holed a long putt on the 18th for birdie which got me going and on my back nine I made four more birdies to be 1 under for the tournament playing my last hole. A poor wedge shot to my last hole left me a difficult first putt which I left well short and then I missed the second putt to end up shooting level par for the day and the tournament. I had a long afternoon watching the scores as the cut line was moving from one under to level. It is definitely more stressful sitting watching it than playing but in the end I made the cut on the mark - I was delighted as it meant that I had two more days to work on my routines in tournament play.

My weekend was much better even though I was one shot worse than the first two days. I felt a lot more comfortable on the course on Saturday and more so again on Sunday. On the last day I played very well but just didn't hole enough putts - I had a lot of chances and could have shot 66 easily, which would have been a very good score in the conditions. So even though I shot one over par for the week and finished well down the field I am leaving feeling very positive. I got a lot of good work done and look forward to working more on it; my routines felt a lot more comfortable on Sunday and as a result I played much better.

It has been a long three week stint, having missed one cut and finishing well down the field in the other two. I had a lot of early mornings and long practice sessions. As a result of this I am very tired. I was due to play in the BMW PGA Championship this coming week but I have withdrawn as a fourth consecutive event would not be good for my game. I am now going to have two weeks off before coming back for the build up to the US Open, but for now though I am looking forward to some rest at home.

Padraig.

------------

HP Byron Nelson Championship.
Final round of level par leaves Padraig down the field at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. A quiet start had him out in one under par and he added another birdie at the par three 13th hole. But two late bogies wiped out these birdies and he had to settle for a 70. Sang Moon Bae won the event with a thirteen under par total.

Third round of one over par sees Padraig record fifteen pars, two bogies and a solitary birdie on his tenth hole, the par four first. He tees off early Sunday at 7.15am with Noh, Seung-Yul.

Another level par round was enough for Padraig to make the cut in Texas but it was a fine effort after a horrible start saw him slump to four over par early on in his round. Starting on the back nine, he birdied his second hole but yet again took a card wrecking triple bogie seven on his third hole. He followed this with a couple of bogies and looked to be heading for a weekend off but then he reeled off five birdies to be one under par playing the last. A bogie left him sweating but level par made the cut on the mark and he will be hoping to eradicate the big numbers over the weekend. He tees off at 11am local time with Justin Leonard and Patrick Reed.

Opening round of level par 70 could have been so much better for Padraig at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. He got off to the perfect start with a birdie three on the first hole but struggled on the greens to record eleven consecutive pars before making a long birdie putt on the par three 13th hole. He bogied the 14th hole but then ran up an ugly triple bogey seven on the par four 15th hole. To his credit he birdied the last two holes but will be disappointed at a good round that got away. He tees off early Friday at 7.40am local time.

Padraig is at the TPC Four Seasons in Irving, Texas for this weeks HP Byron Nelson Championship. The par 70 layout plays to nearly 7200 yards and has had a number of changes since last years tournament with new tee boxes positioned to make the course more challenging. Accuracy is the key around here with the rough topped off at just over two inches. Padraig tees off at 12.40pm with Justin Leonard and Marc Leishman.

HP Byron Nelson Championship - Preview
This week I am back in Dallas for the HP Byron Nelson Classic. I played here last year for the first time and really liked it, so it wasn't hard to decide to come back. I took it easy on Monday as last week was a long week - I was up early every day in Sawgrass and did quite a bit of practice. It was actually very nice not rushing to get up on Monday morning, but in the end I got to the range about 4pm and spent a couple of hours working on my routines and focus, which weren't good last week and so are my priority for this week.

On Tuesday I played nine holes and again spent quite a bit of time on the range working on my focus. I have to say that it is a tiring form of practice, much more so than just standing there hitting ball after ball working on your swing. After a couple of hours I was actually quite mentally tired. I have been working on keeping my focus and not getting distracted over the ball and to do so I have changed my routine a little. I have changed it many times over the years and the first week is always difficult as it is different and so can be a little off putting.

I like the course here in Dallas, it can get windy which makes it quite tough. There are some really tough holes on the course and none more so than the last two. The 17th is a tough par three with water in front of the green and the wind is normally into you. In practice I have been hitting five irons in there and with such a long club it is quite an intimidating shot. The last hole is probably the toughest on the course - there is water down the left for 250 yards and all the way to the green. Again the wind is in from the left and with the water down the left side and trees on the right it is a really tough driving hole. Then the second shot is into the wind to a green with water in front of it, so this hole can cause a lot of pain and angst.

Last week I did some work with Pete Cowen and he was very happy with how I am swinging it. I couldn't really complain about how I struck it, but as I said my main problem was getting distracted and losing my focus, which I have done some good work on this week. As always, you never know how a routine is until you try it out in a tournament so I am looking forward to playing and seeing how it goes. I know that my game is in good shape, I have got some good practice in on my chipping and bunker play as well this week and I am feeling a lot better about it.

Overall I am happy with the work I have done in practice and look forward to putting it into play.

Padraig.

Padraig Harrington - The Players Championship

Wed, 08 May 2013 06:56:27 +0100

The Players Championship - Review
It was a another poor week for me in Sawgrass. Since they moved the tournament from March to May I have struggled there, with the old set up and grass suiting me much more than the current Bermuda grass. However that said it still is not the reason for my poor performance. Having got off to a good start by shooting four under on Thursday I put myself into position to contend in the tournament. I would have said that I played nicely on Thursday, not my best, but I still hit a lot of very good shots. However, I did putt well and that obviously really helps.

However, on Friday I struggled mentally on a number of shots, right from my first tee shot on the 10th hole where I pulled it into the trees left. I was afraid of hitting it right and then ended up pulling it way left, which I did a number of times during the round. I played the back nine (my front nine) ok, not great considering the conditions were good, but I was still in good position. However a bogey on the second hole followed by a missed five footer for birdie on the third left me thinking about the cut for my remaining holes and as I have said so many times, when you are thinking about the cut line you move towards it. I did exactly that by hitting it in the water on the eighth and taking a double bogey. As it turns out my five wood had cracked causing my tee shot to come up short in the water. I played the ninth safely and made par to make the cut on the mark.

The third round on Saturday was similar to my second round, in that I struggled mentally with a number of shots. I was going along nicely until I double crossed myself on the 14th and hit it in the water again. This time it cost me a triple bogey and the rest of my weekend was much the same. In the end I finished on seven over par for the week and down near the end of the field. The only thing I can say is that it was better than my last two years there!

I know that I have to do some good work on my mental game before next Thursday as it was poor. On top of this I will be spending a lot of time practising my chipping as it was also below average. However, the positive from the week was that I putted well and only missed two putts from inside eight feet throughout the tournament. So the belly putter will be getting another outing in Dallas this coming week.

Padraig.

----------------

The Players Championship.
Final round of four over par 76 sealed a poor day for Padraig in Sawgrass. Five bogies and just one birdie on the par five 11th made up his card. All in all it was a disappointment after a promising start to the week.

Third round of 75 sees Padraig fall down the field at the Players Championship. Starting on the back nine he got off to a terrible start and was five over par after six holes due in part to a card wrecking treble bogie seven on the par four 14th hole. In fairness to him, he fought back to cover the front nine in two under par but the damage had been done.

Disappointing second round of 76 for Padraig as he makes the cut on the mark at level par. With 36 holes to play over the weekend he will be hoping for a return to his stellar play of the opening round. Starting on the back nine, he swapped three bogies with two birdies to be out in one over par. A bogie six on the par five second hole was followed with five pars but an ugly double bogey on the tough par three 8th hole left him sweating for the afternoon. He tees off in Saturdays third round at 9.10am local time with Michael Thompson.

Superb opening round of four under par 68 sees Padraig bounce back in spectacular style after a few testing weeks on tour. A bizarre opening five holes saw him start par, eagle, double bogey, birdie, bogie to be level par! A birdie four on the par five ninth had him out in one under par and he continued his birdie blitz with an impressive three under par back nine. He lies in tied 10th place and with an early start Friday he will hope to build on his opening salvo at TPC Sawgrass.

Padraig returns to TPC Sawgrass for the so called 5th Major of the year, The Players Championship. It is a course designed specifically for the event and contains the most infamous par three in golf, the island green 17th hole. It is a tournament that Padraig has finished runner up in on two occasions albeit on a different layout. Heavy rain during the week will make the course play long and with an array of shots requited to negotiate the layout, the winner will earn his 1.7 million dollar first prize. Padraig tees off at 1.07pm local time (+5GMT) with Rory Sabbatini and Ted Potter Jr.

The Players Championship - Preview
I am in Jacksonville, Florida for The Players Championship. It is the biggest tour event of the year and as a result it has the best field of the year. Since the tournament was moved from its March date I haven't had much success here. I'm not sure why, it just seems to be a week when I struggle. I like the course and feel comfortable so it really shouldn't be a tough week.

I got here on Monday afternoon and had some filming to do for Wilson, which took about four hours. Once it was done I spent some time working with Pete Cowen on my long game which didn't take too long as there were only a couple of things that I wanted clarification on and once he explained, both of us were happy. We spent quite a bit of time working on my bunker play and chipping, both of which I struggled with last week and I wanted to have him look at how I was playing them. He pointed a few things out to me and once I got them clear in my head it made a big difference. I have spent a lot of time practising them since and feel that I am making good progress. In terms of my long game, he was very happy with how I was striking the ball.

Even though I shot two bad scores last week I am very positive about my game. I am striking the ball very well, but the areas letting me down are my wedge play and short game. These are areas that I know will come back as I spend more time concentrating on them. Much of my problem with these parts of my game is a lack of commitment, but once I commit I hit a good shot or putt. I just have to trust myself and commit. With this in mind I have spent some time working with Bob Rotella this week and discussing this very issue. We talked it through and made sense of it. I know that I have to commit because, no matter what, if I don't then I end up hitting a poor shot.

I would like to have a few more days to work on my short game before we start but unfortunately I can't. I have to play with what I have; the work I have done on it has made a big difference, but I know that in a few days there will be a massive difference.

I am very happy with my long game and confident that my short game is moving in the right direction. I'm looking forward to playing and hoping to improve on my record here from the last few years. I am using the belly putter again this week; I've had it adjusted since last week and the alignment looks much better.

I am playing late/early with Rory Sabatini and Ted Potter Jnr.

Padraig.

Padraig Harrington - Wells Fargo Championship

Wed, 01 May 2013 06:30:25 +0100

Wells Fargo Championship - Review
It was a very disappointing week in Charlotte for me. I went there looking forward to the week and left having missed the cut and probably finishing in my worst position as a professional. I shot rounds of 80 and 75 to miss the cut by nine shots. Quail Hollow is a tough golf course, but not that tough that I should be shooting scores like that.

However even though I shot such poor scores I did not leave disheartened. I am actually very positive about my game and in both rounds I hit a lot good shots. I know that it is hard to believe when you look at my scores but there were many very good solid shots. My main problem was actually my short game. Over the two rounds I was very poor when it came to scrambling. I got less than one out of every four up and down and lost nearly three shots to the field in putting. It just isn't possible to play when this happens, especially when I am not the sort of person that hits 16 greens a round. I know that my driving and greens in regulation stats weren't great either, but they weren't terrible and if my short game was up to scratch I am confident that I would have made the cut. I am not saying that I would have been contending in the tournament but I definitely feel that I would have been playing over the weekend.

The main problem was my chipping. I hit a lot of poor chip shots that didn't really give me a chance to get up and down. But when I did hit a good chip I tended to miss the putt. I couldn't say that it was the fault of the long putter, in actual fact I like the feel of it in terms of how my stroke felt with it but I wasn't overly comfortable with the alignment. I will work with it again during the practice days next week and see how it feels.

As it was Caroline's birthday on Sunday we all stayed in Charlotte for the weekend so that we could celebrate her birthday together. I practised on Saturday and took Sunday off. On Saturday I spent most of my time working on my chipping and bunker play and a small bit of time on my long game. I am happy with what I am doing in my long game and will see Pete Cowen on Monday for a short while to check a few things out. I would actually think that we will spend most of our time on my bunker play as it was very poor this week. In fact, I wasn't confident on any bunker shot I hit.

So while it was a very poor week I am not feeling down. I am actually feeling good about my game as I know exactly what I have to work on and will be spending a lot of time on my short game between now and Thursday at the Players Championship.

Padraig.

------

Wells Fargo Championship.
Another disappointing day for Padraig as he shoots a 75 to miss the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship. Starting on the back nine he got off to a poor start and had three bogies to be out in 39. Two early birdies on his way home were cancelled by two quick bogies and it was a week to forget!

Disappointing opening round of 80 for Padraig in Charlotte. On a day when nothing went right, he made an incredible nine bogies and just one birdie on the par five 15th hole. He refused to blame the greens which are not up to their normal standard and has a uphill task to qualify as he tees off late on Friday. Five under par leads after Thursdays play.

Padraig is back on the USPGA tour for this weeks Wells Fargo Championship. It is being played at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina and it is a course that Padraig really enjoys. It is a par 72 stretching to 7,400 yards and has plenty of water on course. Padraig currently is in 56th position in the world rankings so will be anxious for a positive week to climb back into the top 50 in the world. He tees off early in the opening round at 7.50am local time with Vijay Singh and Trevor Immelman.

I have had two weeks off since the Masters and I spent most of it at home, practising and playing. I did a lot of practice during my first week off and then in my second week played a couple of games to see where my game was at. I spent last weekend in New York with Caroline and the lads, which was our family celebration for Caroline's birthday.

Wells Fargo Championship - Preview
I have had two weeks off since the Masters and I spent most of it at home, practising and playing. I did a lot of practice during my first week off and then in my second week played a couple of games to see where my game was at. I spent last weekend in New York with Caroline and the lads, which was our family celebration for Caroline's birthday.

This week I am playing the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow CC, Charlotte. I have played here a number of times and always enjoy coming to the event, but I missed it last year as Patrick was making his first communion. The last time I played here was when I had to go back out after play to the 13th tee with my playing partner Phil Mickelson and the referee to show that I hadn't teed off in front of the markers, which was a very strange thing altogether.

I am happy to be back here this week for what is one of the best tournaments of the year. We are looked after so well and the tournament is played on a super golf course, with a finish that can be one of the toughest in golf. The course is normally in fantastic condition, however this year there has been a problem with the greens and some of them are not up to their normal standard. It is no big deal though as everything else is as it always is. It will be a great tournament as always and no doubt an exciting one.

I got here on Monday evening and the following day I did some practice and played eleven holes with Ross Fisher and Nicolas Colsaerts. It was a little chilly for here and so the course played long. The pro-am was the same and it seemed like a different course than the one I played back in 2011 - I felt that I was wearing out my long irons and in fact my hybrid. There has been some rain here and so the course is a little softer than normal and with the slightly colder weather it has all contributed to how long the course has played. As always with me, after a couple of weeks off I am feeling a little rusty. I have done a lot of practice and now I need to get back into playing mode. I am happy with the work I have done and I feel that I have made some good progress, but there is still some work to be done before it is second nature. I have played 29 holes over the two days and I am reasonably happy with how I played.

The main thing that I changed in the last week is my putter. I was at home last week and I was messing around with a belly putter and it felt very good. I decided to bring it with me this week and see how it would go in practice. Having used it for the two days I am probably going to use it in the tournament; I putted nicely with it in the pro-am and so am happy to try it out.

Overall I feel a little rusty but I am looking forward to playing this week. I like the course and have had some good results here over the years. I am out early on Thursday and late Friday. Whilst a little rusty, I know that my game is in good shape and I am feeling positive about my new putter so I am looking forward to a good week.

Padraig.

Padraig Harrington - The Masters

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:38:10 +0100

The Masters - Review
It was a very disappointing Masters for me this year. I went there feeling good and looking forward to giving myself a chance to win the Masters, so to miss the cut was extremely disappointing. I particularly like playing Augusta and so to shoot six and three over par in the first two round is very poor. I just didn’t play well enough, my long game put me in trouble quite a bit and then my short game wasn’t good enough to make up for the fact that I wasn’t hitting the ball that well.

My first round was really the problem; I shot six over when the course was playing easy enough, giving up birdies whilst I was making bogeys. My first round turned on the sixth hole; I was one under par after five holes and in good position. I miss-hit my tee shot and missed the green short right. It wasn’t a bad position to miss the green as I had a relatively easy chip shot, however I miss-hit my chip and the ball ran off the front of the green. From there I three putted for a double bogey. On the seventh I held a twenty footer for par and then on the eighth hole I missed a four footer for birdie. Then bogeys on the ninth and twelfth put me three over par for my round. On the 13th I hit a good drive and then a six iron onto the green to set up a birdie, which gave me a bit of momentum but I was stopped in my tracks on the 14th. I hit a good drive and a nine-iron right down the pin; I thought I had stiffed it but it spun away from the hole and caught the slope ending up 25 feet from the hole. I three putted from there to go back to three over, then when I didn’t birdie the 15th I was quite annoyed with myself. Another day I would have birdied the 14th and 15th and probably got to the clubhouse in level par. I doubled bogeyed the 17th and then bogeyed the last to shot 78.

My first round left me a lot to do to be playing at the weekend and unfortunately I wasn’t able to shot a good enough score on Friday. I managed to pretty much put making the cut beyond me after I bogeyed the second and then double bogeyed the third and from there it was always going to take a big effort to make the cut and one that I wasn’t able to summon. In the end I finished on nine over par and missed the cut by five shots. The funny thing was that when I finished and looked back over my round, I could have made the cut had I played the four par fives better, having taken four sixes on them.

It was a combination of average play and then poor wedge play and short game. Ultimately I just didn’t do anything that well and I paid the price. Missing cuts is always disappointing but to miss the Masters cut is even more so as it is the first major of the year and one that I look forward to every year.

I am now off for two weeks and will be spending my time at home working on my game preparing for my next tournament in Quail Hollow.

Talk soon,
Padraig.

-------

The Masters.
A Masters to forget for Padraig as he fails to make the cut. A poor start had him three over par after three holes and it was a struggle after that. He made four birdies on the day but too many mistakes and a poor short game left him with the weekend off. It was all the more disappointing as he came into the event in good from and it's a course he plays well with a top ten finish last year. He now has some time off before returning to the tour.

Disappointing opening round for Padraig in Augusta as he shoots a six over par 78. A nice start with a birdie on the par four third was wiped out by an ugly double bogey five on the tough par three 6th hole where the pin was on the back shelf. Another bogey followed on the ninth to be out in two over par. He did manage to birdie the par five 13th hole but a double bogey, bogey finish put paid to a bad day at the office. Not hitting enough greens combined with 31 putts for the round made it a tough day and with a late start Friday he will be hoping for a quick start to his round. Forty five players made par of better and six under par leads the tournament!

The Masters - Preview
The first major of the year has arrived and I am in Augusta for The Masters. This is one of my favourite weeks of the year and is held on a course that I love. It is probably the ultimate test in golf as you have to be right on your game and of all the courses that we play during the year, Augusta National tests our game the most and every area of it.

Gladly I have been here so many times now that I know the course well and don't feel the need to overdo things during the practice days. I have spent many hours on the course over the years and played in so many Masters tournaments that I have seen and played most shots that we are faced with.

I got here on Sunday night and have played 27 holes over the three practice days, nine each day. I have spent most of my time practising my chipping and wedge play as these parts of the game are crucial here. When I got here on Monday morning I had Pete Cowen have a quick look at me to make sure that everything was in order. I don't like to work on my swing during the week of a major but it is nice to know that everything is as it should be. Like all majors I am working with Bob Rotella this week and the work we do is great for getting me into the right frame of mind. This along with the work I did with Dave Alred last week is great preparation for a major.

I played nine holes each practice day and the course is in its usual great shape. It is pretty much the same as the last few years bar the 14th green, where they made a very minor change to the middle of the green, but really not too much. My practice has gone nicely and I have found a new driver head that is going well. I have stuck to my normal routine of not over doing it in practice as I am fully aware that the most important thing is for me to be mentally fresh for the week ahead. By the time you get to Sunday afternoon it is more important to be thinking correctly than having worked on your game and be hitting it great.

I am looking forward to getting started; there is nothing quite like The Masters and the buzz at Augusta. I am feeling good about my preparations and look forward to playing the course in a competitive round again. I always say when I am finishing my last round here that the most annoying thing is that I have to wait a year to come back.

Another great thing about playing majors is that when you have already won three you have sense of calm that others don't have. Having said that I am here looking to win my fourth major and the third leg of a career grand slam.

Talk soon,
Padraig.

Padraig Harrington - Press

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:51:41 +0100

- Famous brand marks new range and year’s first Major with special irons -

In support of its new D-100 range, the iron brand with more Major titles (61) than any other has crafted a special set of Limited Edition Major-inspired Wilson Staff irons for a lucky golfer to win in a competition that coincides with the year’s first Major.

The only set of these Limited Edition D-100 irons available in Europe – featuring distinctive green and yellow club heads, shafts and grip (4-SW with GW) – will be awarded to a winner who registers for free on www.wilson.com from 5 April until midnight on Sunday, 14 April. Three-time Major champion and Wilson Staff ambassador Padraig Harrington, who currently uses D-100 hybrids, will add a special touch to the prize with a signed cap to go with the irons.

“The Major-inspired D-100 set is a seriously limited edition prize – there are just a couple of these sets available globally,” said Doug Wright, Commercial Director of Wilson Golf in Europe. “The D-100 range has proved very popular since it went on sale last month, but this set will give one European golfer something extra special.”

To mark the introduction of the highly-rated D-100 range, the famous brand is also offering another 99 prizes in the form of three-sleeves of its new Wilson Staff Dx2 Soft golf balls, the softest distance model on the market.

The Wilson Staff D-100 range and Dx2 Soft balls can be viewed at www.wilsonstaff.com.

Padraig Harrington - Valero Texas Open

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:12:28 +0100

Valero Texas Open - Review
My first trip to San Antonio was a good one. I went there to get myself into the right frame of mind for the Masters and I would have to say that it was a success. I finished in a tie for tenth in the end, but could have been better as I definitely left a couple of shots behind most days. However that is exactly what makes my playing there so important.

Every tournament that I play in I am trying to win, but the ones before a major have another aspect to them. I am trying to get myself competitive for the following week and also looking to see what areas of my game need to be worked on before the major starts. Last week ticked all the boxes bar a win - I got myself into contention for the final round and I got to see the areas that need some practice. I have gone away from there knowing that I need to do a bit of work on my putting and bunker play and to make sure that I do not get too hard on myself. I can slip into trying too hard and so getting a little tough on myself, but for a major the key is to be patient and just let things happen.

In terms of the tournament I felt that I played fine - I didn't feel overly confident with my game at the start of the week although I did score well. We got a mixed bag with the weather - day one was freezing and windy; I felt I played my worst and yet I scored my best. I think when the weather is bad I tend to be much more focused on one shot and not thinking about what is coming up, so I am much more "in the moment". As the week went on I played some good golf and some average golf, but in general I managed to keep it in play and take advantage when I hit good shots. In the end I finished on seven under par and a share of tenth spot, although with a little more confidence on some shots I could have finished further up the leaderboard. It was great having Dave Alred there as we got some great work done in the evenings. He wouldn't let me practice immediately after my rounds; he insisted on me resting and then coming back at 6.30pm for an hours practice. Each evening we worked on areas of my game that will be put to the test at Augusta, namely my wedge play and my short game and with the sessions being short it meant that they had real meaning.

Overall I feel it was a good week as I am now heading to Augusta feeling prepared and ready to play.

Padraig.

Valero Texas Open.
Top ten finish for Padraig in Texas as he shoots a final round of two under par 70 to finish at seven under par for the week. After a bogie on his opening hole, he birdied the par three 7th hole to be out in level par and added two more birdies including some revenge on the last hole! His playing partner, Martin Laird shot the lights out for a closing round of 63 to win the tournament with an impressive fourteen under par total. Padraig now heads for Augusta full of confidence after some good recent performances.

Padaig continues his good play as he records another sub par round to be in tied 7th place going into Sundays final round and only five behind the leader. Two early birdies saw him out in one under par and he added another on the par four 15th hole. But yet again he found trouble on the last hole as he bogied it for the second time this week but still is in good shape for the final round.

Padraig shoots a second round of one over par but could have been so much worse on a tough day in Texas. His three under par half way total leaves him five behind the leader but still well in the hunt going into the weekend. Starting on the back nine, he fell to two over par after just four holes and was out in three over par. But he battened down the hatches on the way home to record two late birdies to salvage an otherwise bad day. All to play for at the weekend!

Fine opening round for Padraig in Texas as he trails the leaders by just one shot after a four under par total of 68. An early birdie had him out in one under par and a nice start home with two birdies set him up for an impressive round. The only blemish came at the par five 18th where a three putt spoiled an otherwise good day. He tees off late on Friday at 1pm (local time) hoping to continue the good work with the first Major of the year looming next week!

Padraig returns to the PGA Tour this week to play at TPC San Antonio for the Valero Texas Open. It has a reputation as being a very tough course because of the wind which invariably blows and had the second highest average score on tour last year after the USPGA Championship. Padraig will be hoping to continue to build on some recent good form as he heads into his 14th trip down Magnolia Lane next week at Augusta National. Padraig tees off early in round one at 8am local time (+6GMT) with John Huh and big hitting Gary Woodland.

Valero Texas Open - Preview
This week I am in San Antonio, Texas for the Valero Texas Open. It is my first time here as it has never fitted into my schedule until now. As always I want to play the week before a major so as to be competitive, but I am here this week trying to win, with an eye on next week. Much of my practice will be focused on shots that I will be playing next week, whereas normally I am totally focused on the week in hand. I got here on Monday evening after having a week off at home, where even though it was cold, I still managed to get a lot of practice done.

I spent Tuesday morning working on getting a new driver, which took a couple of hours of testing to find one that I liked and worked. Once I got it, I played nine holes so as to see what it was like on the course. I always want to see how a club works on the course as over the years I have hit clubs well on the range but poorly on the course, but I was very happy with how it went during the nine holes I played. I played the back nine because the forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday was for thunderstorms and I was due to play from the 1st hole in the pro-am on Wednesday - I was worried that the pro-am could be reduced to nine holes if the weather came in and I wanted to see all of the course.

As predicted on Wednesday the weather came in and the pro-am was reduced to nine holes. I was called in from the seventh and after two hours we went back out to play the eighth and ninth, which made my decision to play the back nine on Tuesday all the better. The course here is designed by Greg Norman, which was built to test professionals. It is a tough course, but if you play well you can score. However if you are not quite on your game you can struggle. There are some funky things on the course, a bunker in the middle of the seventeenth green and the bunkers are built in such a way that you rarely get a flat stance. It is a very good test, there are no gimmy holes and everyone of them has something there to penalise you if you get complacent.

This week I have Dave Alred with me to help get me in the right frame of mind for the Masters. The work I do with Dave is very conducive to getting ready for competitive action. All his practice drills are designed to be competitive and match what a tournament is like. We haven't got as much accomplished so far this week due to the bad weather but over the next four days we will get a lot of good work done for next week.

I would have liked to have got more practice in on Wednesday but unfortunately the weather put paid to that. I am at a bit of a disadvantage to much of the field as it is my first time here, however I like the course and am looking forward to playing a tournament around it.

Padraig.

An interview with: PADRAIG HARRINGTON
ROYCE THOMPSON: We'd like to welcome Padraig Harrington to the media center. Padraig, if you could talk about playing this event and maybe some comments about the golf course.

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Yeah, I always like to play the week before a major. I think, for me, anyway, if I'm at home, I'd be working on things and changing things and you turn up and all of a sudden you realize something isn't quite as sharp as you thought it was. Whereas, if you get out and play 72 holes of golf, the golf course will find you out, the conditions will find you out, and you'll know exactly what needs a little bit of topping off for the tournament next week.

So, for me, it's definitely there's no other way. I've got to come out and play and try to get competitive this week. I'll try to peak this week knowing that I'll probably fail and hopefully peak next week. That's the way it is.

ROYCE THOMPSON: Your impressions of the golf course?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: This golf course is obviously difficult greens, some pretty treacherous bunkers out there as well. It would be a nice week to have a good ball striking week and certainly hit lots of fairways and lots of greens. Certainly, lots of greens because with the undulations in the greens and, as I said, there is a lot of sand in the bunkers, it's definitely a golf course if you're missing a lot of greens, you're going to find it difficult to get it up and down. Even though the greens are very good, so there should be plenty of putt holes, but it will be tricky if you start missing those greens.

Q. I know players like challenge, obviously, as professionals. This course last year was the fourth toughest course on the TOUR. A couple of years ago it was the toughest course outside of the majors. Do reputations mean anything as far as when you look at a course heading toward it, your preparation, your mental game?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Yeah, absolutely. When you play a practice round in particular, you go around the golf course, and you're trying to get your head around what the winning score is. So you're going, well, what won last year? And if somebody turns around and says 20 under, you're kind of deflated.

So I think as a tough golf course, I think most professionals prefer to play the tough golf courses. It's easier in our head to shoot 10 under. But I don't know what was the winning score last year?

Q. 9.

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: 9 under. It's easier in our heads to shoot 9 under par, than if somebody said you have to shoot 22 under. Okay, it is an easier course if you're shooting 22, and the winning score is the winning score, no matter what. But, psychologically, certainly we tend to prepare tough courses. And that is a good thing for next week. If 9 under is the winning score here, it's, obviously, that's going to be a similar number. You take that the following week at Augusta and sit in the clubhouse all week. So in that sense, it's a good warm up.

It's quite a testing golf course. You've got to mind where you hit your golf ball out there, and that is the same thing at Augusta. At the end of the day, both of them are 72 hole tournaments, which you've got to get your mind in the right place and hole the putts. Okay, the conditions of the golf course are different, but outside of that, if somebody plays well here this week and they're going into Augusta, they're going to be nice and confident going into next week, and that's the way I would look at it.

Q. A few of the players have said this is so radically different from next week that it wasn't worth coming, Mickelson in particular. Do you subscribe to that theory?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: As I said at the start, the most important thing for me is competitive practice. A card in my hand, trying to shoot the score, 72 holes, preferably actually, 54 holes would be ideal, but we can't have that wish. 54 hole finish on Saturday would be ideal, but I need competitive practice.

The last thing, even if I went to Augusta this week and played seven days in a row, I wouldn't be as sharp as I would be by playing here and competing. You need to have a card in your hand to figure out exactly how things are working in your swing. Doesn't matter how many shots, for me, anyway, doesn't matter how many shots I hit on the range. It's only when I have a card in my hand that I truly see what my game is like.

There is no doubt in my mind, if this tournament is this is a fine tournament in itself. But if it was played out on the local runway the week before a major, I'd still be turning up. I need competition. I need to be competing against another 156 guys this week or 155 other guys in order to test my game going into next week.

There are obviously downsides to that. If you get in contention, it's tiring. It could be a big, long week. You never know, and that is a downside. Maybe some of the conditions, certainly the sand in the bunkers is nothing like Augusta. There is a bit more rough, nothing like Augusta.

But outside of that, there is a slight downside. The competitive part far supersedes anything else in my mind. I've got to be competitive the week before a major. As I said, I try to peak this week knowing I usually fail and get right the week after. As a lot of people that play very well at Hilton Head will tell you.

Q. What about the wind? People have said if it gets really windy, it can wreck your swing going into Augusta?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Wind doesn't wreck golf swings now at this stage. That is an old wives' tale back in the amateur days. No, especially if it's warm. It's different if we were back at home now in the cold, miserable weather and you really couldn't afford to get the ball in the air for more than four or five seconds or you were doomed. Yeah, that could change your golf swing.

But in the warm weather, yes, it will be windy, but it's not as bad. You can still practice hitting the ball in the air and hitting it true to wind. Nobody wants to be blown off the golf course. But at this stage, professional golfers should have enough experience to be able to handle wind and not let it affect detrimentally their posture or ball position or swing. So, hopefully, I'm big enough and old enough to manage that bit.

Q. Can you talk about the work that you're doing to get the driver right for the foreseeable future?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Yeah, my driver, I was using an old model driver, the crack dummy. The face eventually gave in. So I've had to change driver. My old driver was set up very much for me. The new model, I could have set up the old way, but probably in hindsight it has a little bit too much bias in it, so trying to go for a more neutral driver, which is better for my golf swing long term. So it's a question of working on something like that.

I've changed back to an absolutely neutral driver rather than a toe weighted driver, and it's good for my golf swing. I just have to get used to it and know when I hit a left, it's exactly where it's coming from. And if I hit it right, I know where it's coming from. Whereas, with the old driver, every shot that came out, it was very much a question with the old driver of it being the Indian and not the arrow, because I knew exactly this causes this effect.

When you get a new driver, there is always an element of, okay, I see this happening. I didn't think I did that. It just takes a while to get used to knowing what a golf club does.

So, in my case, as I've said, I've moved to a different setting, a much more neutral setting. So it's taken a little work in terms of swing as well. Then I'll only be able to tell when I get the card in my hand. Hopefully, I'll have to hit a straight shot down the 18 on Sunday, and then I'll really know how good the driver is.

Q. You've talked about the fact that you like to play in the week before a major. Does it make any difference the fact that you're going to Augusta next week that you know so well, compared to say if it was the week before Marion, or the week before Muirfield or the week before PGA?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Yes, it does make a difference. Competitive practice for me supersedes everything else, so, if it was Marion next week, I'd still be playing here this week because competitive practice always for me is far more important, a competitive tournament is far more important than anything else.

Q. I meant in relation to the fact that you know Augusta so well as opposed to the other venues that you might not know so well?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: It does make a difference. Competitive practice might make 50% of the difference and knowing the golf course might make 10%, so it's five times more important for me to turn up and try to be competitive.

There is no doubt knowing a golf course is very important. But one thing you'll find with a lot of professional golfers, and certainly with me, on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I'm 20 yards shorter than I am in a tournament. So if I turned up and played the golf course and played Augusta this week, wow, I'd find it long. It would be really, really tough for me.

You get into the tournament and the tee is moved up five, six yards on some holes, and you get a bit more rain, and the fairways are cut a little bit different, and you're a little bit more pumped up, that can make a difference of 30 yards a hole, which is significantly different. So I have found at times that playing practice rounds, it's nice if you don't know the golf course, but the practice rounds the week before a tournament are not the same. We all know that at Augusta, because everybody with experience knows now that even the test that they say Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, is not what's presented on a Thursday. They change up the tee boxes. There are a lot of things that go wrong. All of a sudden, as I said, you're pumped up and ready to go, and you're hitting the ball a bit farther in the tournament.

So at this stage with experience, I don't even take my Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday practice as serious as I certainly would when I first am starting to play.

I'm sure when I first went to Augusta, I played 18 holes Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and some more, and now I probably play 9, 9, and 9.

Q. You were in Thailand and played in Malaysia. Were you pleased with your efforts there, and what have you been doing since then?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: I was home for a week. Just practiced. I was struggling with my wedge play in Thailand and Malaysia, so I was really struggling. So I hit a lot of wedge shots last week and continue to do it this week because I know it's so important at Augusta. So that's a real place of concern for me at this moment.

As I said, I'm not I'm looking to do some work on it this week, and looking to build a bit of confidence back up on it in this tournament because it was very dodgey the last two weeks.

Q. I think it was the second Open Championship oh, yeah. All right now. I get you. Anyway, that final round you played with Greg. I remember you talking a lot about it. Did you pick up anything from him on that day in terms of philosophy of golf, maybe design that you see reflected here on this course that he designed?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: No, not that day. We were competing to win an Open Championship. We were, well, both of us were busy doing our thing. It was a tough, windy day. But I had played with Greg in the past. I remember playing probably one of the more obviously, a lot of Greg's time was before my time, so he would have been somebody I would have seen on TV and you build up an impression.

But I remember him coming and he played the K Club at home in Ireland, the European Open at the time, the Smurfit European Open. I don't think he made the cut. The following Monday we did an exhibition on his golf course down at Doonbeg that he designed there. Wow, it was interesting how good a player he was.

He played awesome on the Monday because he was on his golf course, and he wanted to he was enjoying it and loving it, and his interest was really peaked. He played great golf that day. It was interesting to see how motivation can really, really determine a lot about how a guy plays. And he was every bit of it he had been in semi retirement a good few years at this stage. He played to an unbelievable standard because he had the interest on his own golf course.

Again, he had a bunker in the middle of the green on that golf course, and there was a lot of as I've always said about Doonbeg and the way he designed it: It took a man of enormous stature to do what he did there. There are a lot of people that couldn't get away with designing a Links golf course the way a Links is meant to play.

A huge amount of golf, especially with Links golf, it's not meant to be a fair game. It's not meant to be a just game. It's meant to be get some good bounces and some bad bounces and the likes of a bunker in the green. There were some par 4s a cross set of par 4s, a 90 yard par 3. There is another par 3 that had a green that was nearly a complete half-moon. There were a lot of things going on. And that's what you want on a Links golf course. You want it funky.

But very few designers could have the gumption to be able to do something like that. You've got to have a lot of yeah, gumption, basically, which, obviously, Greg has. And it was interesting to see that reflected in his design. He wasn't backing off. He was designing a big, bold golf course, and not necessarily worried about what some guy was saying, well, that fairway isn't level. Why is that there? There were plenty of things going on in Doonbeg that is very much in the tradition of Links golf, but wouldn't be in the tradition of modern design.

You see a little bit of it out here. As I mentioned earlier here, you really don't want to hit it in the green side bunkers here because you're unlikely to get a decent stance and lie the way they're shaped. Which, again, that's very unpopular amongst us professional golfers because we like to have nice lies and we like to have everything perfect.

But Greg is man

Padraig Harrington - Maybank Malaysian Open

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 06:46:42 +0000
Maybank Malaysian Open - Review
After a long and hot week I ended up in a tie for sixth. Even though we only played 54 holes it seemed like the full 72 as we spent a lot of time sitting around the clubhouse watching the storms. I have been going out to Malaysia for as long as I have been a pro and the thing about there is that you know there are going to be storms and you just have to accept it; I have got well used to it over the years and now when we are called in I just find somewhere to lie down and get a bit of sleep. The important thing about all these delays is to make sure that you get as much rest as you can, as the restarts in the morning tend to be quite early.

I struggled with my game in practice and then added to this, I was using a new driver. Heading into the first round I really wasn’t sure what to expect. I was reasonably happy with my opening round of three under par; it could have been a lot better but considering how I was feeling about my game it was a solid start. I played early on Thursday and so when the storm came in during the afternoon it meant that my second round would be delayed. On Friday I started two hours and ten minutes after my scheduled tee time and again we had more storms and I only got as far as the seventh green. On Saturday I finished my second round and returned a four under par 68. The third round started at 1.15pm and I teed off at 2.45pm, with everyone knowing when teeing off that it was possible that it could be the final round if another storm came in. I started well making a birdie on the second and then another on the fourth. I had just hit my tee shot on the par five fifth when the hooter went. We sat around for a few hours and when it was evident that the storm wasn’t moving away it was decided that we would come back on Sunday to finish the round, which would be the final round. However I would have preferred to play 72 holes as it would have given me more of an opportunity to catch the leader rather than trying to catch him over 18 holes.

When we came back on Sunday morning I started great by hitting my second shot onto the green and holing my putt for an eagle to get to eleven under par. A birdie on the next got me to twelve under and right into the mix. I narrowly missed a birdie on the seventh and then parred my way to the twelfth, which was the start of my bad run. I missed the fairway and played for a flyer that I didn’t get and ended up making a bogey. I wasn’t too unhappy with this bogey, but it was the next hole that was very annoying - I pulled my drive again but got lucky and had a shot to the green, from where I hit a seven iron to fifteen feet, which was a good birdie chance. I almost holed the putt but it slipped by three feet and then I missed the three foot return for a second bogey, then bogied the next hole because I was annoyed about missing the short putt. These bogeys put me back to nine under and three behind at that stage. I parred the 15th and 16th and after hitting my tee shot on the 17th we were called in again. We sat around for a couple of hours before getting out to finish. I ended up making two pars to finish on nine under and a share of sixth place. It was a disappointing finish, as I had got to 12 under par early in my final round.

There are weeks when finishing sixth is a good week and then others when it feels like a bad week and this was one of the latter as I had given myself a chance to win, but a poor back nine cost me my chance to finally claim the Malaysian Open. After the round I was quite disappointed as I know I could have got to the winning score and then on top of that I should have birdied at least one of the last three holes which would have pushed me further up the leaderboard.

I left Malaysia disappointed to have finished sixth but happy that I got myself into contention and looking forward to playing again after a week of practice and driver testing at home.

Padraig.

Maybank Malaysian Open.
Padraig fires a final round of two under par 70 to finish in a tie for 6th in Malaysia. After many rain delays the event was reduced to 54 holes which didn't suit Padraig after his second round had him right in contention. After completing four holes of his final round on Saturday in two under par he came back out Sunday and raced to the turn in 31 shots including an eagle three on the par five 5th hole. This left him just one behind the eventual winner, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, with nine holes to play but a poor run of three bogies derailed his challenge. He will take heart from his recent performances as he gets ready for the first major of the year at Augusta.

Rain delayed second round of four under par 68 sees Padraig climb the leaderboard at the Maybank Malaysian Open. Five birdies and just one bogie on the par three 4th hole made up his card but with constant rain delays the event may be reduced to three rounds.

Fine first round for Padraig as he shoots a three under par 69 which leaves him in a tie for 12th place. Seven under par leads. Starting on the back nine, he was one over par early on but a nice run around the turn of four birdies in six holes set him up for a solid day. He tees off late on Friday at 13.10pm local time.

Padraig is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for this weeks European Tour event, the Maybank Malaysian Open. He will be anxious to get in the mix this week after three good rounds last week in Thailand. He tees of at 8.20am (+8GMT) with Dannu Chia and Thongchai Jaidee.

Maybank Malaysian Open - Preview
This week I am in Kuala Lumpur for the Maybank Malaysian Open. KL used to be a regular stop on my schedule before I took my card in the US, but I haven't been here for probably eight years, so when I saw that it fitted into my schedule this year I put it down straight away. I have always enjoyed playing out here and have had quite a bit of success in Asia, but have never won the Malaysian Open. It is a tournament that I have come close to winning a couple of times and would love to add to my collection.

Last week in Thailand I thought my driver was acting a little funny, like the face had gone a bit flat. I had it checked out by the technicians on site and they confirmed that it had in fact cracked, which can happen to the drivers as we hit so many balls with them. Unfortunately the spare I brought with me wasn't quite the same as my old one and it has meant that I have spent most of my time during the practice days working on drivers, trying to get one that reacts the same as my old one. I have hit lots of shots with many different lofted heads, but like everyone when they have a club they really like it is very hard to find a replacement. The way I had my old driver set up helped me hit the shape I wanted, but as it turns out I am probably better off with a more neutral set up as makes it easier to hit all shapes, which I wouldn't have found out without all the testing here this week, so I suppose the driver cracking has a silver lining.

I have played 24 holes in practice this week as I have been preoccupied with finding a replacement driver. The course set up is tough, there is heavy rough off the fairways and the greens are quite firm. The lay out of the course is such that you are always taking on fairway bunkers from the tee. It is hard to take them out of play and you have to decide which ones you want to take on.

I am told that eighteen under par won here last year but having played the course I find it hard to believe. I can see where there are birdies to be made but there is a lot of trouble on the course, probably two thirds of the holes have water and the rough is quite penal. All in all I find this a tough course.

My preparation has been hampered by my driver search and therefore I have not been able to spend as much time on my short game and wedge play as I would have liked. I would really like it if there was another day of practice in order to get myself ready for the tournament, as I am definitely feeling a little under prepared.

No matter how I am feeling, the tournament is starting tomorrow and I am teeing off at 8.20am. I am here to try and register my first win in the Malaysian Open and I will be giving it my all. With the way I am feeling the key for the first few days will be to remain patient and not get too aggressive.

Padraig.

Padraig Harrington - Thailand Open

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 10:18:59 +0000
Thailand Open - Review
My trip to Bangkok did not end up as I would have liked. I went there looking to win the Thailand Open, so to finish down in the middle of the pack was disappointing. It was just one round that killed off my chances in the tournament, but unfortunately, on this type of course, when everyone is making a lot of birdies one poor score drops you well down the leaderboard.

I got off to a reasonable start by shooting five under par in round one, which was a decent score but I finished poorly, dropping two shots on the 17th. So even though it was solid start I was disappointed with it. On Friday morning I went out and shot six under par for a two round total of eleven under which left me two shots behind the leader. On Saturday I was in the second to last group, but everyone knew going out that you needed to shoot a low score to be in with a shout on Sunday. However, I ended up shooting three over par which, on this course and in the weather conditions, was a terrible score. I got off to bad start by three putting the first from fifteen feet, then I parred the next and bogeyed the third - both of which are holes that you are looking to birdie - and I only made one birdie in my round, on the 16th, which was a very poor performance. It was just a bad day - I couldn't say that I did anything terrible but in the end it all added up to three over par and I got badly punished for a few bad shots and never holed a putt.

My third round knocked me out of any chance of a good finish, but at least my final round was a lot better in terms of the score - I shot six under par with two bogeys - but the funny thing was that I didn't play massively different to Saturday. It was nice to finish with a good round and not have my bad round on Sunday, so having shot six under I can take a lot of good things from it into my next event.

Looking back on my poor day on Saturday I have to put it down to fatigue. Having arrived in Tuesday morning and playing that afternoon, I never got a chance to fully rest and then with the heat it all built up and I eventually hit the wall on Saturday. The funny thing about the week is that the best I played all week was on the Tuesday afternoon in the pro-am after flying for nearly 20 hours. Maybe I need to factor this into my warm ups!

It was a disappointing week on the course but other than that it was very enjoyable. I would love to have added the Thailand Open to my title but it was not to be.

Padraig. Thailand Open.
Padraig finishes with a fine round of six under par 66 which leaves him in a tie for 34th place at fourteen under par. A nice start where he raced to four under par after seven holes was interrupted with a bogie five on his ninth hole. Four more birdies and a bogey on the par four 11th hole had him back in 33. Three great rounds and one poor one was the story of the week but there are encouraging signs! Prayad Marksaeng won the event with an impressive twenty four under par total.

Disappointing third round for Padraig as he records a three over par round of 75 which on a day of low scoring sees him fall down the leaderboard. Nothing much went right for Padraig as he started with three bogies in his first six holes and putted poorly for the day. He will be looking for a low round on Sunday to get back in the groove!

Padraig shoots a fine second round of six under par 66 to post a half way total of eleven under par and right on the heels of the leaders going into the weekend. Six birdies were recorded with no blemishes on his card which will please him.

Opening round of five under par could have been so much better for Padraig in Thailand. A great start where he raced to four under par was embellished with an eagle three on the par five tenth hole but an ugly double bogey on his 17th hole has him back in the pack. He will be encouraged with his putting which was solid all round!

Thailand Open - Preview
This week I am in Bangkok for the Thailand Open. I left Miami on Sunday night and arrived here on Tuesday morning. What on paper looked like it could be a tough trip was actually quite easy - I flew back through Heathrow and then onto Bangkok, but managed to get a good bit of sleep which was nice.

I have always enjoyed playing in Asia and have had a reasonable amount of success out here so when the opportunity arose for me to come back to Thailand I was delighted.

I arrived early on Tuesday morning and played in the afternoon pro-am. Thankfully it wasn't too hot on Tuesday as it would have been hard to acclimatise to the heat and humidity straight away. Along with this, the another surprise was that the pro-am was played in carts, which made all the difference on the back nine as I was fading from the jetlag. It was my first look at the course and my initial thoughts were that the scoring could be very good as there were several short par fours and the par fives were reachable. However when I played again on Wednesday I noticed the trouble on the course and realised that the holes were not as easy as I originally thought. I played nine holes with Paul McGinley on Wednesday and it was great to catch up with him. Needless to say we spent quite a bit of time discussing the Ryder Cup.

As I lost a day in travelling I haven't been able to do as much preparation as I would normally would when I come to a new venue. However that may not be a bad thing as I need to take it easy and cut back a bit. On Wednesday I played eleven holes and spent quite a bit of time chipping and putting around the greens. I always prefer to do my practice on the course whenever possible, as you get so much more out of it. I am very happy with the state of my long game but I would like to have another day to do some work on my chipping. This part of my game let me down last week in Miami, so I have spent as much time as I could on it so far and will make sure to get some further practice in during the week.

The course, while it is not long it has enough trouble on it to make it tricky. You can make lots of birdies if things are going your way but as easy as you can make a birdie there is a bogey or worse lurking too. The rough is patchy which means that you can get away with a loose shot but also you can get a really bad lie. As with every course if you keep it on the fairway then you don't have to worry about it.

I am looking forward to playing - I came here looking to win the Thailand Open and I will be giving it my all. I would love to add the Thai Open to my titles, but to do this I know that I have to stay patient and ensure that I am in contention come Sunday afternoon and then take my chances from there.

Padraig.

Padraig Harrington - WGC - Cadillac Championship

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 08:35:53 +0000
WGC - Cadillac Championship - Review
Finishing in a tie for 39th is not a good week in terms of my overall performance, however when I look back on this week there are many very good things to take from it. I got some really good work done with Dave Alred, in particular on my wedge play and we also made some good progress on my putting. As well as the work I did with Dave I also got to spend some time with Bob Rotella and we had some good chats about where I felt I was going wrong and what needed to be done. Our chat on Wednesday evening was actually very worthwhile and it all clicked for me - it wasn't anything new but sometimes you need to hear things a number of times before they make sense.

I went to Doral looking to get into contention, unfortunately I didn't manage that but I left feeling good about what I achieved during the week. I got off to a tough start by shooting four over par on Thursday, which left me down towards the end of the field and well out of the tournament. The great thing for me in terms of having shot my poor first round was that we were guaranteed four rounds, because for me at the moment it is important that I am on the course playing tournaments, as the work that I need to do can only be done there. Spending time on the range at the moment is not doing me any good, especially as my long game is in very good shape. It is my short game that needs sharpening and the best way of doing this is to be playing.

As the week went on I got better and better in terms of my routines and my putting. During the previous three tournaments I had putted poorly, so last week I wore my glasses for the first time during play. They went well and I didn't notice any problems with them. They made everything much sharper and closer to me which took a bit of getting used too. They felt very comfortable and I would say that I had a very good week in terms of reading the greens. What I was seeing with my glasses on was what I was feeling so I wasn't getting two different reads. I also did a lot of work on my putting routine and so to get four rounds to practice it was great. By the end of the week it was beginning to feel quite natural.

Overall I am happy with what I achieved last week but disappointed with my performance, especially my final round as I played really well and only shot level par. I had it going for a while and looked like I was going to shoot a low round but in the end a few poor chip shots and some mental mistakes cost me. Thankfully dropping four shots in the last five holes didn't really make much of a difference to my week, as I would only have finished about ten places better.

Now I am heading to Thailand for the Thailand Open in Bangkok and with everything that I got done last week I am really looking forward to playing.

Padraig.

----------------------

WGC - Cadillac Championship.
Final round of level par could have been so much better for Padraig. Three birdies in his first four holes and another one on the par five eight hole had him out in 32 shots but a poor finish saw him drop four shots in the space of three holes to leave him at level par and tied 39th place.

A much improved third round for Padraig as his four under par 68 sees him jump eighteen places up the field going into Sundays final round. A birdie start was wiped out with a bogie on the second hole but two more birdies had him out in one under par. A nice run of four 3's in his last six holes saw him sign for a 68. He tees off in the final round at 11.20am with Tim Clark.

Padraig shoots a level par second round which still leaves him with work to do to climb the leaderboard over the weekend. Two birdies were mixed with two bogies on a day where he didn't hole anything of significance. He will be hoping for better over the weekend! Padraig tees off Saturday at 8.55am local time with Marcel Siem.

Disappointing opening round of four over par leaves Padraig with a mountain to climb to get back into contention in this world golf championship. He opened brightly with a birdie four on the par five first hole but a succession of bogies and some poor putting saw him card five bogies and not record another birdie on a day of low scoring by most of the field. With no cut this week he has three rounds to repair the damage and will be out Friday at 12.15pm local time. Five players lead at six under par after the opening round.

Padraig is at the famous Blue Monster course at Doral for the second of the seasons World Golf Championships. The top fifty in the world contest this event this week with no cut and huge world ranking points at stake. Padraig will be anxious to return to his early season form as he currently sits just outside the top 50 in the rankings. Padraig tees off at 1.10pm local time (+5GMT) with Jim Furyk and Martin Kaymer.

WGC - Cadillac Championship - Preview
This week I am in Miami for the WGC Cadillac Championship. After sweating it out for a couple of days at the Accenture World Matchplay, other results went my way and I made into the field this week.

After being beaten in the first round at Tucson I went home for a week. It was great to get home and take it somewhat easy, but as always I did a lot of practice, possibly too much! However it was nice to be at home with my family and get to catch up with some friends. The weather was actually great for practice - even though it was cold there was no wind so I got a lot of good work done.

I got to Miami on Sunday evening but my clubs didn't arrive until Monday evening. It wasn't that big a deal as I was able to locate a putter and spent a lot of time on the putting green. This week I have Dave Alred with me, which is his first tournament of the year. Having Dave here puts a different emphasis on my preparation. He is very keen to get me ready to play on Thursday and all my practice is about being competitive - he doesn't go in for practice that has no meaning. Even when I am doing some technical work he wants to have it set out properly so as to make sure that I get the most out of it. He is exactly what I need as it keeps me on my toes and gets me as focused in practice as I would be in a tournament.

Since getting here on Sunday I have got quite a bit done and each evening I have got out to do some really good wedge work when the range is quiet. I played nine holes on Tuesday and nine on Wednesday and as has been the case for the last year or so, my long game is in good shape. With this in mind I haven't spent too much time on this area of my game. Dave and I decided that we should focus more on the short game and wedge play as these are the areas that make your score. I feel that I have got some really good work done on these areas so far this week, in particular my putting. I have also been wearing my glasses in practice which has definitely helped me with my reading of the greens. When I am wearing them I am seeing what I am feeling. This has been my problem for the last while as I have been getting two reads and therefore I wasn't able to trust what I was seeing. Now with the glasses I am much happier.

Along with Dave Alred, Pete Cowen and Bob Rotella are also here. I have spent a good bit of time chatting to Bob about where I am with my game and that I have been trying a bit too hard. It has been very helpful and a few things he said really hit home. Pete had a look at me for a couple of holes and thought everything was good which was nice to hear.

My preparation has been good and very enjoyable, as Dave brings a fresh approach to it whenever he is out. I am looking forward to getting going on Thursday. Even though I haven't played too many holes, I am not too worried as I have played the course so many times and it hasn't changed for a good few years. I have had some good results here at Doral; I like the course and enjoy the tournament. I am feeling good and ready to get going and will be playing with Jim Furyk and Martin Kaymer for the first two rounds, at 1.10 pm on Thursday and 12.20 pm Friday. The joy of only having 65 players in the field is that we don't have any early times for the first two days!

Talk soon,
Padraig.

Padraig Harrington - WGC - Accenture World Matchplay Championship

Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:46:19 +0000
Support Lollipop Day 2013
Best Wishes to all the team & volunteers making Lollipop Day happen this weekend (22-23 Feb). Please show your support and help Ireland stand up to Oesophageal Cancer by buying a €2 lolly. Thanks, Padraig. Find out more at www.lollipopday.ie

WGC - Accenture World Matchplay Championship - Review
This year's Matchplay ended with pretty much the same result as for the last number of years for me. Since it moved to Tucson I haven't got past the first round too often and this year was no different, other than that I got to play on Thursday because we were snowed off on Wednesday. It probably the furthest I have got in the last four years!

It was always going to be a tough match against Graeme McDowell. We both battle hard and never give up so it always had the potential of being a very tight match. In the end it was, but Graeme beat by two holes. We managed to get started on Wednesday just before the snow, but by the time we got to the first green the snow arrived and we were called in. Originally I thought we would be back out within an hour or so but as it turned out we were done for the day. The course was covered in snow and the temperature was too low for it to melt. It actually took until lunchtime on Thursday for us to get back out on the course.

I got off to a good start by winning the first hole with a par but a missed a five footer on the next hole and gave back my advantage. We halved two holes and then I three putted both the fifth and sixth holes to lose them both. I made the turn in two down which was poor as I had hit the ball fine but putted terribly. I struggled to trust my lines and as a result I ended up hitting some weak putts. A bad drive with a three wood on the tenth cost me a double bogey and another loss and at this stage it was looking like an early bath for me, even more so when I hit a terrible drive on the eleventh way left into the wasteland. I could only hack it back to the fairway and then hit a three wood left of the green. Graeme was in the green side bunker in two and took three to get down and I got it up and down to steal a half. It felt like a win and changed the momentum of the game and I then started a comeback, winning the 12th with a par, the 13th with a birdie and then Graeme conceded the 14th. This put us back to all square with four to play and we both birdied the 15th to stay level. However the deciding blow came on the 16th. I hit a nice tee shot but it drifted just right of the green and Graeme hit his tee shot to 18 feet. I had an awkward second shot as I had to come up a steep bank to a tight pin, which I decided to putt it as I felt it was the safest option to get it within four feet. However I ended up hitting it too hard and left myself a ten footer for a par which ended up being for a half. However, I missed it and went one down. We halved the 17th after both of us two putted from about 40 feet and meant that we went to the last with myself one down and in need of making a birdie, but I wasn't able to find it after pushing my drive into the wasteland, therefore ending up being a two hole loss in the first round. It was very disappointing to lose as it always is, but to lose the way I did was even more so. Having got it back to level I handed Graeme the advantage on the 16th and then hit some poor shots in the last two holes. In the end it was my putting that cost me, I missed two many putts in the first ten holes and left myself with lots to do.

Losing in the first round meant that I was relying on how others get on this week for me to stay in the top fifty of the world rankings and gain an automatic spot for the WGC Cadillac Championship. There were about six guys that could pass me and knock me out. All bar one went out by the second round, the only one left when I was flying home on Friday night was Shane Lowry. He had to get to the last four to get into the top 50 and push me out. It was tough one. I was talking to him after he won his second round match and laughing about the predicament. I wanted to see him do well but obviously I wanted to stay in the top 50 so as to get into the field for Doral. It would have been so much easier if I had won a match and then I wouldn't have been waiting on other results. Graeme ended up beating Shane in the third round which helped me but left him short of getting into Doral.

It was a disappointing week again, which makes three in a row after a good start to my first trip to the States a few weeks ago in Phoenix. I am coming away from Tucson knowing that I need to do some more work on my putting and to get myself to trust my lines. Once I trust what I am seeing then I hit a good putt, which I will be working on during my week off.

Padraig.

---------

WGC - Accenture World Matchplay Championship.
Padraig loses a disappointing first round match with fellow countryman, Graeme McDowell on the 18th hole. Having won the first hole with a par, he played inconsistently on the front nine to fall three holes behind. He won three holes in a row from the 12th hole to tie the match and followed this with a birdie three on the short par four 15th hole. McDowell matched this birdie and won the next with a par three. The 17th was halved in pars and the match ended with a concession by Padraig on the last. It was a day of shocks as both Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods were also beaten in the first round.

Padraig will play fellow Irishman, Graeme McDowell, in the first round of the Accenture World matchplay starting on Wednesday. Both players missed the cut last week at Riviera so will be anxious to progress this week. Another intriguing matchup is the meeting of two more Irishmen, World number one, Rory McIlroy and Irish amateur team mate, Shane Lowry.

WGC - Accenture World Matchplay Championship - Preview
I am in Tucson for the Accenture Match Play Championship this week, the first of the World Golf Championships. I missed this tournament last year as I wasn't in the top 64 in the world, so it’s good to be back. Unfortunately I missed the cut last week but it did mean that I got here on Saturday night and I was able to do some practice with Pete Cowen and get out on the course on Sunday. It was a nice day to be here as there weren't many people around and I got some good work done with Pete and then played the back nine on my own at a leisurely pace. I was able to spend time chipping around the greens and hitting plenty of putts.

On Monday I was filming an ad for Wilson which meant getting up very early and I didn't get back to the course until nearly three o'clock. When I got back I spent about an hour working on my putting, holing three, four and five footers and working on my pace. I didn't hole putts last week even though I felt that I putted ok. I have spent a lot of time over the last few weeks working on my alignment and it has definitely helped to make me more comfortable when I stand over a putt.

As there is no pro-am this week I organised a game with Shane Lowry. Match Play is an unusual format for us to play as pro's so to get us into the right frame of mind we played a match against each other. I managed to take the bragging rights which I enjoyed and it was good to play a game as it has been a while since I played match play.

I am playing Graeme in the first round this week, we could have stayed at home and played this match! Not only could we have done this but Rory and Shane could have as they are playing each other too. All matches in this tournament are tough ones. We will all be trying very hard to win every match we play.

This hasn't been a great hunting ground for me over the years, but hopefully this year will be different. I’m going to try to be more care free and not try so hard and enjoy each match.

Padraig.