Pádraig Harrington is itching to tee it up in next month’s US Open after an impressive PGA Championship performance rekindled his Major mojo.
Harrington was delighted to feel the juices flow of a cut and thrust Sunday on the big stage especially after he put on a spectacular finish to cap off a week where he played golf akin to his major winning vintage of two decades ago. The 54-year-old holed a treacherous bunker shot for eagle on the 16th before blading a wedge into the hole for a grandstand birdie on the last for a 69 and one-under total.
“Look, I left a lot of shots out there,” Harrington said to reporters. “I know I had this spectacular finish, and it makes me feel good. But I was feeling pretty good about my game up to that.
“I hit a lot of good shots today, made a few average decisions, you know, which you kind of make on a Sunday, maybe because I wasn’t in that position for a while.
“So it was nice to be there. It was nice to have that feeling going out. I know eight under could probably win this or something like that, but I was still going out there, hoping to shoot seven, eight under myself, or five under.
“I was still in contention in my head, and that’s a nice place to be.”
The three-time major champion is also bullish about the future after he found an old flame on the greens at Aronimink and he is ready to meet the US Open challenge of Shinnecock Hills full on.
“This is probably the first time I’ve had a positive strokes gained putting (for years),” he said.
“My putting was so much better this week than it has been for 15, 20 years.
“Hit some lovely shots, as I said, on 16, it was a bigger celebration than normal, because I had just moaned to high heaven for short siding myself as I walked up.
“And 18, I think I was more relaxed blading that 20 footer out of the rough because I am more relaxed doing that than normal, because of the fact I’ve been putting well.
“Normally, I’m trying to hit the ball stone dead, because you’re so worried about the next one, whereas clearly I was trying to do that, but I’m definitely freed up a little.
“I was actually walking onto greens, looking forward to hitting putts today.”
Aronimink faced some criticism from players who barked at the course set up but Harrington found it to be right in his wheelhouse as it bunched the field together meaning he had an outside chance of winning an elusive fourth major heading into Sunday.
Shinnecock Hills should provide a similar test and it is these type of arenas where Harrington feels his age is just a number.
“I’m fully focused on the US Open, that’s what’s that’s what’s up next,” he said. “If we have a tough Shinnecock or a tough Open Championship at Birdkale, I can hang with people in that.”
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