For the third week in a row Pádraig Harrington will have an opportunity to notch his ninth Champions Tour win but despite consistency knocking on the door he is not 100 percent confident he can get over the line at the Simmons Bank Championship.
Harrington overcame some squally rain to card a seven-under 65 to jump into a share of the lead alongside Steven Alter on twelve-under and it was a chip in eagle on the par-5 8th that sparked the charge.
The Dubliner began with a bogey but birdies on the 4th (chip in) and 5th steadied affairs before the eagle on 8 gave him momentum for the back nine and he took advantage with birdies on 10, 12, 15 and 18 to come home in 32 to give himself another chance of a third victory of the season on a week where he needs it most.
“Kind of tale of two halves for me,” summed up Harrington who needs to win today to give himself a chance of winning the season long Schwab Cup for the first time.
“I played poor enough until it started raining. When it started raining, I started playing great. I don’t like the rain honestly, but I chipped in on 8 for eagle. Everything after that I had chances all the way home, I really played very nicely. Probably could have got a few more in my last sort of 11 holes or 10 holes I should say. My first seven I got the most out of. To be 1 under after seven was a miracle.”
Perhaps it is the scrappiness of those first seven holes that has Harrington not feeling overly confident in his game as he looks to take down serial winner Alker at Pleasant Valley Country Club.
“Yeah, this is my third weekend in a row going into the last round with a shout. It’s where you want to be. I’m not 100 percent confident in my game at the moment, so we’ll just have to wait and see. Going to be a bit of a battle, I’m going to have to manage myself well tomorrow.
“I don’t have as much trust as you would like to have. I did hit some really nice shots coming home. Yeah, I don’t hit the ball very well on the range here. It’s kind of on a slope, side slope and it freaks me out. I go out on the golf course and it takes me a good while to settle.”
Harrington won the penultimate event of the Schwab Cup playoffs last year but was unable to go back-to-back and win the Charles Schwab Tour Championship the following week and it’s something he will need to do if he wants to win the season long race.
“I think anybody winning two weeks in a row is really tough, full stop. To win a tournament takes a lot of effort and you get — you know, very rarely does it not take something out of you to win a tournament. It’s kind of hard to win back to back. I’ve done it a few times in my career, so if I do get through tomorrow, I don’t know where I’ll be sitting at the end of the day, but if we do, I’ll give it my best. What I’m interested in now is getting my head in place for tomorrow.”
Darren Clarke is two-under-par after a fine round of 68.
Leave a comment