Harrington takes his rightful place
Hard work turned Irishman into bonafide PGA star
The folks at the World Golf Hall of Fame introduced their latest class of gifted golfers over the weekend. The 13 founding members of the LPGA Tour were included in the class of 2023. Four golfers of note were added to the Hall, including PGA Tour pro and golf course architect Tom Weiskopf, two-time golfer of the year Johnny Farrell, two-time major champ Sandra Palmer, and Beverly Hanson, winner of three majors, including the inaugural LPGA Championship.
The fifth member of the new Hall of Fame class is one of the game's most intriguing characters, namely Padraig Harrington of Ireland. An intense competitor who played actively on both the European and the American PGA Tours, Harrington had a magical 13 months after the turn of the century, notching a pair of British Opens as well as a PGA Championship. Well known for his day-long practice habits, Padraig took quite a while to reach golf's center stage, but once he did he made a great impact upon tournament golf and team golf.
Harrington was born in August of 1971 in Dublin, Ireland. He was the youngest of five boys. In Irish sports circles his father was a famed athlete, playing Gaelic Football for Cork in the 1950s. He was an avid golfer who played to a 5 handicap and introduced all of his sons to the game. Padraig was especially talented at an early age, playing extensively at the Stackstown Golf Club. He had a solid career as an amateur golfer, winning the 1991 Sherry Cup as a 19-year-old, and following it up with important Irish wins at the 1994 West of Ireland Amateur, the 1995 Irish Amateur, and later that summer at the Irish Amateur Close. He played on three Walker Cup team, including the winning European squad in 1995.
Yet as talented as Padraig was as a junior golfer and a young man, there was a cautionary side to him. He wasn't all that confident of his ability to compete on a higher level and always had a fall-back side to his career options. He attended college, acquired an accounting degree, and gained admittance to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Europe's version of attaining CPA status.
Harrington was single and he balanced his accounting career with big-time amateur golf. Following the Walker Cup triumph in 1995, Harrington decided to give professional golf a try, joining the European Tour in 1996 as a 25-year-old rookie.
It didn't take Padraig long to make an impact. His 10th start of the year was at the Spanish Open and Harrington ended up taking home the first-place trophy with a fou- stroke win over Gordon Brand Jr. He had a number of high finishes in Europe, won the 1998 Irish PGA, and was named to his first Ryder Cup team in the 1999 matches at The Country Club outside Boston.
Beginning in 2000, Harrington went on a decades-long tear, winning 13 times on the European Tour at such disparate venues as the Andalucia Masters, the Hong Kong Open, the German Masters, the Irish Open, and a pair of Dunhill Links Championships at the Old Course at St. Andrews. He won the big-money Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Japan, captured three events on the Asian Tour, and won twice in America in 2005. Padraig beat Joe Ogilvie and Vijay Singh in overtime to win the Honda Classic in Florida and then added a win in the Barclays Classic in Westchester, New York, beating Jim Furyk by one stroke.
In July of 2007 Harrington handled the difficult Carnoustie Links Course in Scotland and then beat Sergio Garcia in a four-hole aggregate playoff to win the British Open. One year later Padraig got to keep the Claret Jug for another year as he ran away with a fourstroke win over Ian Poulter at Royal Birkdale.
Just 20 days after that he added another major title to his golfing resume, winning the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills outside Detroit with a two-stroke win over Ben Curtis and Sergio Garcia. In 2003 and 2004 Harrington finished in second place at the Players Championship. He was the European Tour's Golfer of the Year in 2007 and 2008 and was a European Ryder Cup team member six times, winning the Cup four times. He was also the captain of the Euro squad at the 2021 Matches at Whistling Straits.
Harrington focused on the PGA Champions Tour once he turned 50 years of age and made an immediate impact in 2022, winning the U.S. Senior Open and coming in second in another pair of senior majors. Looking back on the career of Padraig Harrington, the accounting adds up 36 professional wins, three major championships, one senior major, and 11 wins on foreign tours. A great closer, Padraig made up a six-shot deficit in winning his first British Open, came from two behind to capture his second British Open, and made up two shots to win the PGA.
Padraig married his wife Caroline in 1997. They were childhood friends. They have two sons. Harrington maintained a house in Ireland and made a real effort to be with his family during his touring times. Very generous with his time, Padraig is a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics and conducts golf clinics for Special Olympic athletes. He actively promotes Lollypop Day, a major fundraising event in Ireland for esophageal cancer. Padraig's father died from the disease in 2005.
Noted as the ultimate tinkerer, Harrington was constantly working on his golf swing while adjusting to the moment. There were times that Padraig would miss the 36hole cut at a tourney and during the weekend he would be observed on the practice range putting in eight-hour sessions. He has stated that he was able to gradually get to the next level because of his practice routine. Harrington felt he worked his way to his three major championships.
I have always been a fan of Padraig Harrington, the Irishman who stayed loyal to the European Tour because of family commitments. He didn't play college golf, he waited until he was in his mid-20s to turn pro, and he worked his way to the highest echelon of the game. During the modern era, the turn-of-thecentury decade was dominated by the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Vijay Singh. All four were talented and gifted. Yet because of hard work and an inner tenacity, Padraig Harrington forced his way to the top of the game alongside the aforementioned four. He wasn't the longest driver, he didn't necessarily putt great, and there are very few highlights of brilliant shot-making. Yet Padraig Harrington of Dublin, Ireland, knew how to close, he knew how to win, and he has now earned his rightful place in the World Golf Hall of Fame. Well deserved Padraig!