Comment

PADRAIG Harrington has always wanted to play well in the majors, but now he expects to.

As the Irishman prepares for the Masters, he is doing so as a major champion and in a different frame of mind.

Last season, Harrington captured the Open at Carnoustie, which not only took him off the list of the best players to never win a major, but also provided him with a boost of confidence and experience.

Named European Tour Player of the Year last season, the 36- year-old feels his experience at Carnoustie - where he defeated Sergio Garcia in a play-off - could benefit him, but he will have some work to do first.

I think winning at Carnoustie does a couple of things for me,'' Harrington said.

I can look back to that and use it as a yardstick to judge what preparation is good for me.

Having won a major, if I am in contention again, I assume that I feel a little bit more relaxed about it.

But I won't know until I'm in that situation whether it is a bonus having won one major before, but I assume it is.'' Harrington's best finish at Augusta National was a tie for fifth in 2002. He tied for seventh a year ago and his best PGA Tour finish this season is a tie for fourth at the Zurich Classic.

Now he knows he can win a major, and what works in terms of preparation, he wants to ensure he does not burn himself out before the tournament.

As he sees it, many players run themselves ragged before they even play an official shot.

But Harrington does admit he needs some work, especially on the greens. And with putting being so vital to success, he has definitely put the time in.

I did practise for four hours on the putting green, which is not what I initially planned but I was a bit uncomfortable on the greens so I needed a bit of work,'' Harrington said.

I think the more you play the golf course, the more experience you have of it, the less you feel that you have to go out there and cover every blade of grass.

You essentially can't prepare yourself for everything. There are going to be slight variations on pin positions, slight changes all the time, and you just have to run with it.

The one thing you don't want to do on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday is get into the psychology of trying to cover everything, which I have in the past.

That only wears you out if you do happen to get into position on Sunday.''

11:08am Wednesday 9th April 2008

Print

Email this

Comment

Add your comment

Name:
Email: *
Location:
**
	e.g. 123-123
Comment: Please note: All HTML tags will be ignored. Format Text:
By posting a comment, I confirm that I have read and agree to the terms of use. Comments are not moderated but we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention and we may delete inappropriate postings. Please treat other people with respect. You must not post anything that is abusive, indecent, unlawful or defamatory. Remember, you are personally liable for what you post on this site. If you wish to complain about a comment, contact us here.
* Your email address will not be displayed ** To avoid register now or login