TIGER’S GOING FOR THE CLARET JUGULAR
Padraig believes it will be business as usual at Carnoustie as Woods leads old guard’s charge
PADRAIG HARRINGTON insists Tiger and the wily old foxes can hound the young guns in the hunt for the Claret Jug.
Two-time Open champ Harrington lifted the first of his back-to-back trophies at Carnoustie in 2007 and believes the venue will be ideal for the older guard to shine come July.
Twenty-somethings Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth hold the four Major titles with the latter on top at Royal Birkdale last time around.
But Harrington is adamant the over-40s can rule the roost in Angus – with Woods among those at the top of the contenders list.
The former No.1 is set to return to The Open at the age of 42 having last played three years ago at St Andrews.
Woods has made a strong recovery from the back issues that threatened to end his career to be in the mix at the Valspar Championship and the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month.
And despite being unable to carry that into the Masters with a share of 32nd, Harrington reckons the 14-time Major winner will be ship-shape mentally and physically for a crack at a fourth Open title.
He said: “Tiger has the game and the experience and looks like he’s in fine form. A lot of people would like to be in his shoes going into The Open.
“A lot of pressure and attention was paid to him during the Masters but by the time it comes to The Open, with the US Open under his belt, it will be business as usual.
“He has certainly got the physical game again and he’d be very comfortable, if not under the radar a bit more than The Masters but at least familiar with the attention again.”
Four players in their 40s have lifted the Claret Jug since 2011 with Zach Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els emulating Northern Irishman Darren Clarke.
And Harrington, whose third and final Major came at the US PGA a few weeks after his second Open triumph, said: “It doesn’t play into the hands of just being a bomber.
“Basically an experienced over 40-year-old can compete. It gives an option for the wily old pro to work his way around OUT OF WOODS Tiger has impressed on return the course. It’s not just about hitting a high, straight shot every time.
“That won’t necessarily work on an Open Championship course.”
Harrington, of course, can’t rule out a younger brigade led by Spieth, Thomas and Rory McIlroy.
He said: “Rory has matured as a player and he’s well capable of winning, no doubt about it.
“Then you look at someone like Jordan who’s experienced way ahead of his years. He’s a guy who can win on any links course, which is a great testament to his style of play. “He’s quite capable of hitting all the shots around the course that are needed and take the good with the bad. Golf was never meant to be a fair game – it was always meant to be a mental test.
“As pros we’re getting conditioned more and more to have perfect conditions, no divots. That’s not how golf is meant to be.
“Jordan is more than capable of dealing with that. Clearly Justin is a winner, he likes to go out and win tournaments so that is a great trait to have, himself and Jordan.
“All the young guys in the States should be paying Jordan a retainer as he has made it possible for the likes of Justin to believe they can win at a very young age.”
The tournament will be emotional for Harrington as he returns to the scene of his famous success 11 years ago. But the 46-year-old, who will prepare by playing the Scottish Open at Gullane, feared he had blown his opportunity to hoist the Claret Jug into the Angus air.
Harrington put two shots in the Barry Burn for a double-bogey six at the last, paving the way for a fourhole play-off with Sergio Garcia.
And he said: “I didn’t hit a very good third shot and felt The Open was over. It’s the only time I’ve ever been on a course where I felt like I’ve let myself down, let my friends down, let my fans down. I felt like I’d choked.
“Never before had I had that feeling on the course – that I messed up when it was mine. Thankfully my caddie started to talk me out of it.”