Major winners with some major problems

GOLF:WHEN PLAYERS who have won 17 majors between them insist that it is only a matter of time before they emerge from the golfing wilderness, you are obliged to give them the benefit of the doubt

But even the most avid fans of Pádraig Harrington and Tiger Woods cannot but be concerned about their struggles with the game.

Woods is clearly fighting an uphill battle to emerge from the wreckage of his private life and get his game back to the stratospheric levels that made him look almost invincible to his rivals for the better part of 15 years.

Following his 19th hole defeat to Thomas Bjorn in Tucson on Wednesday, the former world number one insisted that he is slowly getting to grips with the swing changes he has been making with Canadian coach Sean Foley since they teamed up in August last year.

But he also admitted he is besotted with swing thoughts as he stands over the ball.

How often? “A lot,” he said. “Every time. That’s a process. That’s what I went through with Hank and went through with Butch. It took 18 months to a couple of years. Still in the process, still working on it.”

However, NBC analyst and former major winner Johnny Miller does not believe Woods is getting any closer to rediscovering his game.

“In golf, ‘close’ is like the north and south rim of the Grand Canyon,” Miller said. “I’ve been there. You do one little tweak and you’re on the other rim of the big gulf. When you go off one rim, you’ve got to crawl up the other side. Not that many guys have done it. I used to say that Tiger could win with a rental set and one eye closed. But he’s had a lot of things happen, and it’s mostly self-inflicted. He’s having to pay the price.”

Harrington insists he has always tinkered with his swing but it is plain the slew of changes he has made over the past two-and-a-half years have not worked their way into his game.

He is having trouble taking his new swing from the practice range to the course, but genuinely believes it is only a matter of time before it all clicks into place.

Beaten 4 and 3 by Geoff Ogilvy in the first round in Arizona on Wednesday, Harrington spent more than an hour on the range afterwards with caddie Ronan Flood recording his swing on his iPhone. Asked if he was at all concerned about his lack of results so far this season – he’s finished 58th, 63rd and 55th in his last strokeplay events – he said: “I’ve no concerns. It’s all good. Very good actually.

“Results? Okay, they haven’t been good so far, but I have only played a few events. Things are good, very good. Nothing needs to happen at all. I just need to stay patient and let it happen. I don’t need to change anything to be honest. Everything is in good stead.”

Like Woods he has blind faith in “the process”. How long they can remain upbeat in the face of adversity is another matter. Rather than swing coaches, you get the impression a spell on the psychologist’s couch would be more in order.

Harrington has joined the jet-set and bought a second-hand private jet for just $2 million. The Dubliner (39), has been looking for a jet for several years to ease his frequent transatlantic trips. Now he’s taken advantage of the economic crisis to buy a 13-seater Gulfstream G3 believed to be more than 20 years old.

A major expense associated with jets is not just their price but the cost of servicing and fuelling them. Jet fuel, which is now $2.99 a gallon in the US, has soared 58 per cent since last summer.

Harrington has already made good use of his new purchase, arriving home to Dublin early yesterday, less than 12 hours after his first round defeat in Arizona.