SAN ANTONIO — After the first round of the Valero Texas open, Padraig harrington shot a 68 to tie Matt Kuchar for the lead at TPC San Antonio Oaks Course. After two consecutive starts on the PGA Tour Champions, this is Harrington’s third week of action.
Why is Harrington still grinding? Why does he bounce from one event to the next, and vice versa?
Three-time major champion, he has an interesting answer: he believes competing against other 50-somethings pushes him and gives him more confidence in the face of younger fields.
The major difference between the tours and the 54-hole Champions events is that the 72-hole PGA Tour events cut down the field by half after just two days.
Harrington stated, “I love playing on the Champions Tour and it has really helped my game to no limit.” “I go out thinking, oh, it’s better. So I go, I play three European Tour events in this year and this is my third PGA Tour event. I feel like I’m playing better. Let’s see if it’s true.
It’s not as if his results have been affected by his extended play.
Harrington finished seventh in the Hoag classic in Newport Beach, California. He then added a T-5 to last week’s Galleri Class outside Palm Springs. He’s also had respectable finishes on DP World Tour.
He said, “It’s nice that you show some form.” “I had a good chance of winning the first DP World event at the beginning of the year. It’s great to get a score today. Although it was not an easy task, being a leader at any stage of the Tour is a good thing.”
Harrington knows there will be consequences. He doesn’t bounce back nearly as fast as he used to, and with the unpredictable weather wreaking havoc at tee times, it’s likely that he will get a late start Friday and have several holes to make up for on Saturday.
He insists that he is up to the challenge.
He admitted that he would spend many hours in the physio truck. “The only thing that worries me is that I will likely have to play 26, 27 holes Saturday. After walking 18 holes, I can’t do much. It’s my leg. After walking 18 holes, it seizes up quite often. You don’t have to worry, I’ll figure this out. You’d find a way to work through all of these issues.
“It would be something that I would be aware of, but I don’t believe it will hold my back.”
