Whereas many golfers struggle to deal with getting older, Padraig Harrington is very much thriving during the autumn of his career. Now 51-years old, we have rarely seeing a version of the Dubliner that enjoyed his golf more than the current iteration.
His success on the senior tour have been well documented, winning four tournaments in his debut year including the US Senior Open. This uptick in form has also helped him on the traditional tour, putting in some very impressive performance in major championships over the last couple of years.
Harrington showed what he was all about once again today, putting in a stunning round on the third day of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship. The Irishman would card an eight-under 64 to move right into contention in the event, sitting two shots behind Shane Lowry and the other leaders heading into the final round.
Never in doubt @padraig_h 😎#ADGolfChamps | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/cS21pqsfmb
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 21, 2023
He will now harbour real hopes of winning his first DP World Tour event since the Portugal Masters in 2016.
Padraig Harrington gives brilliant interview in Abu Dhabi
As mentioned above, Padraig Harrington seems to be really enjoying his golf at the moment. That has not always been the case over the course of his career, often being accused of overthinking or meddling too much with his game.
That is no longer an issue as he simply seems to be going along with the ride.
Speaking after his brilliant round in the Middle East, Harrington displayed some brilliant perspective as he explained his current approach to getting the most out of his game.
This afternoon will involve eating chocolate, drinking my Diet Coke, sitting on my bed watching Netflix or something.
I’m different at this age. I have a much better handle on experience, who I am and what I need to do. I am in a good place.
Before everybody did stats, I did stats. Now that everybody does their own stats, I’m refusing to do stats because I don’t want to be one of the masses. I have to be different, so I’m actually trying the opposite...
When I did that in my heyday I would have been quite hyped up and stressed about it. Today it was ‘ho-hum, this is what I do’.
I think there’s a lot of players who will get to 50 years of age fitter, stronger. The biggest problem is burnout. I was burnt out five years ago, no doubt about it. I’m here because I had nothing else to do.
I figured out this is actually what I like doing and I’m pretty good at it and there’s no point in trying to be good at something else. I’ll never be as good as I am at golf, so why not find a way of going out there and loving golf again?
Brilliant to hear.
A genuine Irish sporting legend, it is fantastic to see Padraig Harrington thriving at this stage of his career. Long may it continue.
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