Harrington back to winning ways

2008-07-14 14:07

England - Padraig Harrington underlined his return to top form ahead of his defence of his British Open Crown with a comfortable win in the Irish PGA tournament on Sunday.

It was an identical scenario to last year when Harrington chose to miss the lucrative Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and put in some valuable time on the links at the relatively low-level Irish event.

The following week he captured his first major at Carnoustie defeating Sergio Garcia in a nail-biting four-hole playoff.

"It's been an excellent exercise and I couldn't have asked for a better week in preparation," Harrington said following his four-stroke victory over fellow Open hopeful Philip Walton.

"I don't think it puts me a shot ahead of anybody else but it will certainly save me shots and make my golf better at Birkdale.

"Thankfully, I don't play for the cheques anymore," the Irishman added.

"But I haven't won for seven or eight months now and it's always nice to win. It is always better to get that winning feeling. It's a nice habit to stick with."

At 36, Harrington said that while he would be delighted to add a second Open triumph at Royal Birkdale this week, he would first choose one of the other three major championships - the Masters, US Open or PGA Championship.

"If you were going to tell me I'm going to win one more major, I'd pick one of the other three," he said. "And if you're going to tell me I'm going to win three more majors, I would pick all of the other three."

- AFP