Padraig Harrington spoke about how he was relishing the opportunity to hit driver as much as possible at the PGA Champions Tour’s Hoag Classic at Newport Beach Golf Club, and he did so to great effect during the opening round as he went round in an eight-under 63 to end the day one off the lead.
Four birdies on the front nine, were followed by four on the back, but it was the three-in-a-row starting on the 15th that saw him emerge from the pack and get hot on the heels of early pace setter Thongchai Jaidee who’d actually gotten to 10-under with three to play and had a round in the 50s firmly in sight before a bogey at 16 halted his momentum.
The only disappointment on the day for Harrington was that he couldn’t join Jaidee at the top of the board as he found himself one back with a par-5 to come. Still, after consecutive top-15 finishes in his two 2024 Champions circuit starts, getting back in the winners’ circle is well within reach, even if he didn’t feel his play matched his score.
“No, I scored well today,” he said afterwards. “I scored much better than I played today, no doubt about it. I got up and down a few times, holed a few putts, holed a few important putts for par. Yeah, I scored better than I played today. Yesterday I played better than I scored.
“Yeah, we’ll see how we go. I think I was a little bit — my expectations were high a little bit and Ronan said it to me on the last hole, he says I’m reacting too much to my average shots instead of just getting on with it.”
Despite the weekend weather forecast predicting cold temperatures, wind and rain – conditions that typically would favour the three-time major champion – it’s a sign of the times that he’s not particularly looking forward to braving the elements.
“I’m getting it anyway and I’m in California. I come to California for Sony weather, for nice weather. I’ve gotten soft,” he laughed.
“Yeah, look, it’s a bit of — it will be an advantage to me if it’s tough conditions. If the course plays longer, it’s going to be an advantage to me, but when you get bad weather, it becomes a little bit more of a lottery. You know, it doesn’t mean — you know, bad weather can beat anybody up. I think I prefer to play — I prefer to try and beat these guys on a day like today. Maybe if I was playing against the young guys I might want an advantage, but I’ve gotten soft, I don’t want to play in bad weather. Yeah, I prefer nice 75 degrees like it should be here.”
Englishman Paul Broadhurst is tied with Harrington at -8, and they enjoy a two-stroke advantage over Miguel Angel Jiminez in solo fourth.
Darren Clarke’s round wasn’t so much a case of two halves as it was a case of three thirds, as he’d bridie three of the opening four, bogey three of the next seven and then birdie each of the closing three to post a three-under 68 that leaves him tied for 16th going into the weekend.
Leave a comment