Pádraig Harrington reveals his Open expectations and shows off his shots

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Back-to-back Open winner Pádraig Harrington takes on The Shane Lowry challenge and is ready to hit the opening tee shot on Thursday.

00:00 Pádraig Harrington open victories
03:00 Opening tee shot
05:00 Golf shots
07:10 Expectations of The Open

#golf #theopen

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How does it feel later coming back to open championships, but specifically coming back to an open championship on the island of Ireland? I both of those are very special. Look, having won it, you come back and you you you take time to enjoy that. People say things to ask you questions and you do have to walk around like you have won it. You’re in the champions locker. But it is a bit more special obviously when it when it is in Ireland. Obviously our second time doing this at Port Rush and uh you know this is somewhere I would have played as an amateur. So coming back here and uh again trying to trying to soak it all in cuz you it can go by very quickly and you can you can get caught up in you know over practicing. The fact of the matter is it’s unlikely I’m going to forget how to play golf Thursday. So I’m going to chill out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and and and probably play you know probably play 18 holes of golf in that time and just take it easy and hopefully just be nice and fresh for Thursday morning. Uh if we rewind back to your first open victory, Carnisti, that ended an Irish winner of the Open Championship in 60 years. It was a 60-year drought for that one. Um at that time, were you aware of that? How aware were you of that moment in history for you? I wasn’t aware of it at that time, but I would have been aware of the fact that we hadn’t got winners. Uh, I talked to some of the the sort of older distinguished journalists, Irish guys, and they just said that we had players that were good enough, but they just didn’t believe it. Now, it’s not that I believed it, but I didn’t know any different. I was sort of kept my head down, blinkered, whatever way you want to look at it. I I never really thought I couldn’t win. Whereas, I think the guys that came before me, for whatever reason, they just let things get in their way, you know. Uh well that belief saw you through to successfully defend your open championship title here at Burkedale. And in doing so you were the first person since the early 1900s and know from what you said you’re not a big stats person but to win an open championship super special to defend an open championship must have been unreal. Yeah that that was a bit of validation to be honest. You know my first one I obviously messed up the 72nd hole and while winning is very exciting. Winning your first major is so exciting. Winning the open so exciting. It always leaves a little something wanting when you when you do that down the last hole. Whereas in Burgdale I you couldn’t have drawn if you were 15 years of age and you were trying to write how you would win an open. I swung the club well. I I played in the wrong side of the draw. I played with in the last group. I played with Greg Norman. There was so much about it. I hit great shots on Sunday. Hit that shot in 17 that just came up there. That’s exactly how a kid would draw it up. But so my first one was very exciting. My second one was very satisfying. Just like really deep down satisfying and and I think I was very aware and I think you know when you win one major you always kind of want to get to two because you want to validate. You want to get past that. You know you don’t want to be known as the guy who won one major it can be quite a burden on players when they win one major. So to get a second one was incredibly satisfying. Really really what it really was. Uh now in terms of the open championship being on the island of Ireland. Last time it was here at Port Rush, it was of course Shane Lowry that won in 2019. Uh there is this incredible legacy that’s being built in real time throughout history of Irish Open champions. And on that vein, you will be hitting the first T-shot here at the Open on Thursday morning at 6:35 a.m. How does that feel? Well, I’m I am very proud at this moment to be selected to do it. It’s a great honor. Uh bit of nerves involved, no doubt about. I might sneak out Wednesday night and take away all those white stakes down the left and the right. Uh you know, so I’m not an early morning person either, but No, you’re not. This is It’s such a big honor. I’m committed to it. Well, for us golfers, it can be an early start, but I’m going to show you how I’m going to do it. Actually, I might take a different approach and just Rolls-Royce it straight to the tea and just hit it. No warm-up. I quite like that because that might combat any nerves that are jangling around. And in fact, we’re going to take a look at this first t-shirt. Look at what Padre has to face. Uh we’re going to ignore those white stakes cuz they won’t be there. Podre will go out on Wednesday night and remove those. But yes, this is the tea box here. Tea and ground. Tell me what you’re looking at, what you’re trying to do. Talk me through this. Obviously depends on conditions. You’re just trying to hit the fairway. So you’re very comfortable if you hit it this down short of these two fair these two bunkers. This one is dangerous cuz anything turning runs down into it. You’re going to get yourself in a lot of trouble. You’re very happy with a second shot. Hit it up onto the green two put and walk away with a par. It’s this is it seems like as we look there it’s very straightforward very easy hole and the wind has a big effect but in the tournament as we’ve seen we see many a player as I said falter on that hole. I don’t want to dwell on that, but h yeah, it’s one of those holes that you can’t win it on the hole, but you can certainly lose it on the first hole. So, it’s a bit of a disaster hole and you want to get away from. Okay. Well, we are going to ignore the disaster. We’re going to go with the uh plan of you Rolls-Royce. Would you like me to announce you? Yeah, that would be okay. I have a bit of practice visualization. Yeah. Bit nervy for me. Um, first on the tea in the 153rd Open Championship, a twotime open champion, Padre Harrington. Hi. Okay, I don’t know where. Let’s see where where would the middle of the fairway be? Let’s see where we’re pointing. Okay, wherever I hit it, I’m going to pretend it’s the middle of the fairway. Just straight up at the Giants causeway just there. So, what I’m going to do, Rolls-Royce, but the most important thing, because I know it’s going to be on camera, is I’m going to pose after I hit this no matter where it goes. First shot of the day. No warm up. And I’m just going to stand there, admire it. Little sub twirl. You flushed it. I did, actually. I did. Maybe I shouldn’t swing so hard in real life. Yes. I know we were joking, but I think that might genuinely be the plan. Oh, I’d like to do that. Yeah. Yeah. Let’s just cement that into your mind and your memories and you can get all of the good feeling. That was 309 yards. 309 yards. Little poke with a threewood. Just obviously a little bit downwind at the moment. You’re drinking from the fountain of youth. Yeah. I tell you what, it was Oh, god. Is Miss it. Miss it. Miss it. Oh, perfect. Can I go down and put the ball there? I did it already. Can I tell you? You take the stakes away on Wednesday night and I’ll just run down and just put the ball there. Just fly 160 mph ball speed. No warm up. Well, yeah, I’ll probably get I could I could get it over 170, but it might go so straight. I’ll settle for the straight one, which which to be honest, the first hole is about you’ll see a lot of people just swing one smooth there. Just poke it down there. As I said, and and in links golf as well, the smoother you swing generally the less spin. So you you can be you can manufacture your way around the Lynx golf course by just depending on the different spin rates and things like that. So I might use that shot for sure. Um I in all seriousness you are one of the most passionate diligent people I know who is totally in love with the game of golf still despite the many distinguished years that you’ve been playing the game. What are your expectations and thoughts ahead of the week? There’s no doubt like all golfers we we last about 20 years. 15 years onwards you start to burn out. 15 to 20 years that would have coincided about 2015 16 when I would have got my my last win sort of on the regular tours. I found a new lease of life though, you know. I probably went through five five years of this is hard, this is difficult. H maybe just the the idea of the championship, getting on the championship, found a new lease of life. I have a I have a different way of looking at I spend more time enjoying my life around the golf rather than focusing so much on the competition. So, I know I’m going to practice enough. I know I do enough work in the gym. I’ve just got to make sure I I embrace all of all of golf and enjoy it. So, I said, “It’s 2:00 in the afternoon, and that’s the first ball I’ve hit today.” So, I I I’m never going to be totally relaxed, but I am a more relaxed version than I was 20 years ago. And that’s the only way I can do it. I What happens is you get older. You try and keep up with your young self, but that intensity is just too much. So, you have to find a new way of doing it. And I I feel good. You know, I can compete on any one given shot with all these guys. Can I do it over 72 holes? is a longer, tougher task, but you know, in my head, I could believe I can do it. I’m I’m I don’t believe I’m here to make up the numbers. I believe I can I can play good golf and I’m well capable of doing it. I’m under a bit of pressure to do it, obviously. Uh you know, these guys are really good. You know, the the strength and depth is is is deeper than back in my day. So, you do feel under pressure, but uh I’m certainly capable and and I believe I’m capable, which is more important. So, we we’ll wait and see. Uh well, thank you so much for joining us. I know that everyone at home and here on site is going to absolutely love watching you out there at Port Rush. Thank you for your time. Hopefully.