The majors keep coming thick and fast for Pádraig Harrington who will tee it up in his third major championship in as many weeks at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship at Fields Ranch in Texas.
Harrington was unable to strike gold in the Regions Tradition or the PGA Championship as he mixed the good and the bad in his golf game. The three-time major champion shot rounds of 72, 71, 75 and 69 at Oak Hill last week to share 50th place.
“There’s some good things in my game. Some good and bad. Like all weeks, you’re trying to maybe improve a few of the bad things and keep the good stuff,” explained Harrington.
“Yeah, like I’m not that happy, but I’m not too unhappy with my game at the moment. It was a lot of work last week for a miserable tied 50th. That’s for sure. I need to prepare better. I keep coming into these tournaments and wishing I had another week, another week or two of good preparation.
“Yeah, I could see that last week. It’s always a good reminder when you go to places like that, you just go, you know what, I’m just not doing the things I want to do in preparation.”
Harrington will open his campaign alongside Charles Schwab winner Steven Alker and Rocco Mediate as he makes his first visit to Fields Ranch and he is expecting the old guard to produce some drama over the weekend with the course set up akin to a Ryder Cup layout.
“There’s risk-reward out there. There’s drama out there. There’s some — like again, the two par-5s, the 1st and 18, for example, they’re both very reachable, no problem, but like if you even miss the first in the bunker left, it’s a tough shot to keep it on the green.
“18, the tee shot is — like it’s so tight in terms of hit it down the left, you’re re-teeing maybe and you hit it straight, you’re in the hazard on the right.
“That’s perfect for match play because you will take it on in match play, and as I said, in stroke play, you have to manage that and figure out when is the right time to take a chance.
“Some of that will depend on how you’re playing and how you feel about your game. Yeah, it’s good variation on the golf course, which would lend itself very much to a Ryder Cup match play style.
“For us this week, a lot of that variation will come down to the pin positions. There are a few narrow spots out there on the greens, and it will be interesting.”
Also in the field are Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley.
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