Macau Open: Padraig Harrington, ranked eighth in the official world rankings, tees off in the $275,000 (€226,000) Macau Open today bidding to plunder another piece of silverware in the Far East.
The Irish star has always enjoyed successful forays to Asia, and has won titles in Hong Kong and Taiwan along with other numerous top-10 finishes. And currently in good form, Harrington is tipped to shine in the 10th leg of this season's Asian Tour and prevent Zhang Liang-wei of China taking a third Macau Open title in four years.
"I arrived on Monday and have slept well. I think I have got over my jetlag," said Harrington yesterday. "My form has been good and I've been working on my swing with Bob (Torrance). I tend to hit under the ball a little bit and I've been trying to keep my right shoulder higher through the ball. It really helps my swing and I'm happy with how things are going. My game is really developing at the moment."
Harrington, who will play the first two rounds alongside Zhang, enjoyed a strong run in America in spring with second at the Players Championship, before finishing fourth at the BellSouth Classic and tied 13th on his fifth US Masters outing.
However, the Irishman is predicting a tight leaderboard in Macau. "The layout is risk-reward and there is a lot of trouble out there. You can shoot a lot of birdies but also a lot of bogeys and double bogeys. I can see why Macau has had a few play-offs in the past and I'm sure it'll be another tight finish."
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