Pádraig Harrington made the cut at the Qatar Masters on his 500th appearance on the DP World Tour after rounds of 71 and 70 at Doha Golf Club.
The 54-year-old Irishman first played on the tour at the Smurfit European Open at The K Club in 1995, and joined the tour 30 years ago in 1996.
It is Harrington’s 380th made cut, at a record of 76 per cent over that time, with many of his missed cuts coming in recent years, it is just his second made cut on the tour since last year’s Bahrain Championship. The Dubliner still appears on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, as well as the Champions Tour in the US, where he is one of the leading players.
“It’s just a pure love for the game, I’m fascinated with it,” Harrington says of continuing to play touring golf. “I enjoy it, I love coaching, I love thinking about it.
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“I’m here now trying to be competitive but knowing the only way that I can be competitive is actually to enjoy my tournaments and events. I’m making much more of an effort to enjoy my life on Tour that I did when I was a young man.”
Harrington made six birdies and four bogeys en route to his two-under 70 and is at three under for the tournament, nine shots behind the in-form Patrick Reed. The American won the Dubai Desert Classic two weeks ago and could open a sizeable lead in the Race to Dubai with another victory, in a year where Rory McIlroy looks to equal Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight order of merits.
Reed recently announced he was leaving the LIV Tour to focus on the DP World Tour for the rest of the season, before returning to the PGA Tour next season.
He is one shot ahead of Swede Joakim Lagergren, who lost in a playoff to McIlroy at the Irish Open last year.
