Pádraig Harrington may have captured two of the most prized assets on the PGA Tour Champions circuit with his victories at the U.S. Senior Open and the ISPS HANDA Senior Open Championship, but he finds himself in fifth place in the Schwab Cup Rankings going into the final three events.
And he’s looking forward to focusing more on simply playing well and winning rather than the intricacies of the golf swing.
“Yeah, it’s always an interesting time of the year,” he said ahead of the Dominion Energy Charity Classic. “You know, there is an inevitability, and so you kind of start focusing on playing, not so much on the long term.
“During the year, I’m always thinking, ‘Well, am I getting better or working out things? What tournaments are coming up down the road?’ This time, you know you’re gonna have a winter break, so it’s all about just playing.”
As one of golf’s great tinkerers, Harrington is always searching for the key that will take his game to the next level – even at 54 – but he readily admits that it hasn’t always worked in his favour and that the focus on simply playing and playing well with only winning in mind can help him lock in and produce his best.
“So, [I] should be a bit more disciplined with the mental game and focus, a little less technical practice. That generally leads to better play,” he explained.
“Some would say, ‘Why wouldn’t you do this all the time?’ But there is always a temptation for trying to get better, which is sometimes a trap I fall into. You don’t have those traps when I’ve got three tournaments to catch leaders in the playoffs, and that’s it.
“So, I’ve got to probably win two out of three. And that wouldn’t even guarantee anything, but you know, that would be the goal if I’m gonna win the Schwab Cup.
“So yeah, it’s about just getting your head in the game and being reasonably disciplined so far. Oh no!”
But, of course, it’s easier said than done. Harrington, though, has done it before and knows what it takes.
“Oh no, it’s incredibly hard,” he replied when asked if it was easy to flip that mental switch. “I know how to do it [but] tend not to bother doing it because it’s difficult. Yeah, it takes time. It takes me at least three weeks to switch that flip switch. You know, it’s basically…you go from being in your left brain to right brain. For me, it takes three weeks. I know we can fall into it sometimes. In general, it’s three weeks of discipline, and by the end of that, I do tend to be able to get into the zone.”
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