Harrington will not discount Woods or McIlroy

Padraig Harrington believes the firm conditions at Carnoustie will benefit Tiger Woods in his quest for a 15th major win.

Irishman Harrington won the Open when it was last held at the Angus links in 2007, beating Sergio Garcia in a playoff. Harrington expects a leaderboard packed with experienced players come Sunday afternoon.

He said: “I would agree experience is important. Links experience is especially important.

“You’d have to go back to Hoylake in 2006 to see something as fiery. It is probably not quite as fiery as Hoylake but it does play into the hands of guys who can tread the ball around the course.

“Tiger is good enough to win this championship, no doubt about it. I don’t think he could play golf like the way he played in 2006 at Hoylake. Nobody else could have tried to play the golf course the way he did.

“I suspect he couldn’t play that way now but he’s definitely capable of winning this week. His game is good enough.”

Harrington, meanwhile, has backed Rory McIlroy to end his wait for a major sooner rather than later.

The former world number one has not won one of golf ’s main events since taking his major tally to four in 2014 by winning the Open and the US PGA Championship.

Harrington added: “Rory’s played well this year and yet seems to be getting a lot of press saying he’s not playing so well.

“Clearly, his career is now solely based on how he does in the majors. There seems to be no other yardstick for Rory and that’s probably the yardstick he uses himself. If we look at history, it took Jack Nicklaus 20 years to get to 18 majors. For players such as Tom Watson and Gary Player with eight and nine, you’ll find it took 20 years too, certainly 15.

“And you’re judging Rory over seven years. Give him another seven years and see if he’s got eight in the bag. Are we disappointed with that then?”

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