While waiting for one of the best two-week runs in golf to begin – the Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club and the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale – let’s take a moment to appreciate again the enduring brilliance of Pádraig Harrington.
It’s easy and short-sighted to dismiss senior golf and Harrington’s victory Sunday in the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto – his second consecutive victory in the championship and third overall – was another reminder of what a genuinely unique character the 54-year-old Irishman is.
Harrington is quirky and sometimes seemingly possessed by swing theory, all the while having an insightful and endearing worldview that defines him as much as the golf he plays.
He was a deserving selection to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2024 with three major championship victories, six Ryder Cup appearances, 15 European Tour victories and a collection of other trophies from around the world.
Harrington, though, is more than someone who is defined by the scores he shoots. There are plenty of professional golfers who come and go, clock their hours and slip back into their cocoon, rarely offering much more thoughtful commentary than how the wind was affecting their shots on a particular day.
Ask Harrington a question and the answer can flow like an open fire hose. Don’t ask Harrington a question and he may offer an answer or an opinion on something anyway.
He might be the only player in history who has admitted to thinking during his round about what he planned to tell the media afterward, not about a specific shot but about a subject that was whipping around in his head.
There may be no player who has experimented with more swing aids than Harrington, who has never been afraid to consider the unconventional, and he has worn out practice tees across the world.
“No one has won more Senior Opens than me, which considering the people who would have played it over the years, that is a nice stat to put on my CV. I might have to put that right up at the top.” – Pádraig Harrington
He’s the definitive grinder, and Harrington would accept that as a glowing compliment. With his victory at Scioto, Harrington joined Miller Barber as the only three-time winners of the U.S. Senior Open.
“Hopefully I have a few more chances in me, as well. But I like that,” Harrington said when asked about sharing the distinction with Barber.
“No one has won more Senior Opens than me, which considering the people who would have played it over the years, that is a nice stat to put on my CV. I might have to put that right up at the top.”
In a world in which top players rarely play three weeks in a row, Harrington is in the middle of playing eight weeks in a row, and not just with the seniors. It started with the RBC Canadian Open, followed by the U.S. Open, the Dick’s Open, the U.S. Senior Open, the Genesis Scottish Open, the Open Championship, the ISPS Handa Senior Open Championship and the Portugal Invitational.
Compare that to Rory McIlroy, who has made just nine starts on the PGA Tour this year.
“When I’m 70 years of age, I won’t regret playing an extra event,” Harrington said recently.
“Who wouldn’t want to do what I do? Every tournament I turn up to, it’s in the best condition that golf course can be for us. Everything is looked after. Everything is like as good as can be.
“I have to try and remind myself of this. Each week I play golf is like for a normal person who’s into their golf, they would save all their money to have that one week’s holiday a year, and I get to do it 30 times a year. That’s not lost on me. I love playing golf. I love being out here competing.”
Full disclosure, Harrington said he treats some weeks differently than others. If he wants to relax and dial back his practice time, he sometimes does that, turning the week into his version of a holiday.
Harrington is consumed by the impossibility of fully mastering the game. If he’s hit the best 5-iron of his life, he said, his next goal is to hit a better one.
“There’s always something to work on with the golf game,” he said.
Harrington’s online lessons have been a big hit and he does a wonderful job of breaking the game down for the average player to both understand and incorporate. He manages to take the endlessly complicated golf swing and simplify it.
The youngest of five boys, Harrington calls himself a contrarian and says he likes nothing better than telling someone they are wrong about something.
“I’m 54, and there’s new guys coming on, and it’s the first time that I’ve been knocked back a little bit since I’ve got to the Champions tour when I see these new guys like, oh, these guys are good, as in I had an advantage.” – Pádraig Harrington
“So I get a sense of satisfaction out of telling somebody who’s a bad chipper, no, you’re actually meant to lift your head when you’re chipping, not keep it down. Everybody goes, what?” Harrington said.
“I get great joy out of telling a beginner, no, you’re not meant to keep your head still. You’re not meant to keep your feet still. You know, there’s a little bit of the contrarian in me.”
Harrington knows he is in the prime window of his senior career. The relatively recent arrival of Stewart Cink and Zach Johnson reconfirmed the perpetual youth movement that drives leaderboards for the 50-and-older set.
It’s possible Harrington will be a version of the seemingly ageless Bernhard Langer but only time will tell.
“I’m 54, and there’s new guys coming on, and it’s the first time that I’ve been knocked back a little bit since I’ve got to the Champions tour when I see these new guys like, oh, these guys are good, as in I had an advantage,” Harrington said.
“Now I’m seeing guys coming along, and I’m kind of realizing there is only a window to win these tournaments.”
Harrington’s window is wide open and there is a nice breeze blowing in.