Where to now for Harrington?

Paul Gallagherponders where Pádraig Harrington will go from here and if he will bounce straight back from the disappointment of recent weeks

Have we just witnessed the beginning of the end? Will the damage be irreparable or can he bounce back stronger? They say you have go there in order to come back, but how deep an incision has been made and will the mental scarring be just too much?

Pádraig Harrington had returned from the wilderness and for the second straight week he was at the business end of a “major” tournament, only to give it all away, cheaply. Too cheap, much like an average club player might do in the same situation, rather than one of the world’s finest.

There is no hiding place out there, least of all the Sunday afternoon of a major championship. The pressure of majors is like no other, only a select few know how to get the job done. Harrington taught himself that art, he went the extra mile, took on the hard yards to step out of from the crowd.

But golf is a fickle game and all too often we’ve heard the adage “what it gives in one hand, it takes in the other”. The taking for Harrington has been clinically painful of late. Not a slow death, rather a quick penetrating shot deep into the soul.

Last Sunday’s undoing was barely fathomable as Harrington appeared to be composed and playing within himself. There were no warning signs for what was to come on the par three eighth. But two visits to the water instantly evaporated three-and-a-half days of hard graft.

It was all painfully reminiscent of what took place the week before when he was going toe-to-toe with Tiger Woods at the Bridgestone. Like Hazeltine he

amateurishly bounced what should have been a deft pitch back into the water over the green. The triple bogey at 16 did the damage in Akron.

Put the two together and questions will surely be asked; is this now an irreparable malfunction in Harrington’s make-up? Does he possess the

mental fortitude to overcome the disappointment, or will he be stunned into submission by the game that has brought him so much success?

The thing with Pádraig Harrington is we forget what it was like before he came along. We take for granted his battling qualities, his consistently humble and approachable demeanour, and most of all, his ability to step up to the plate and win major championships.

What makes his feats all the more remarkable is the 37-year-old has developed and matured in a European culture surrounded by failure.

Everywhere you look this side of the pond there are stories of near misses, might have beens, when it comes to major championships. Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Colin Montgomerie, Darren Clarke, Robert Karlsson, Henrik Stenson, Luke Donald, Paul Casey - need we go on?

Take practically everyone one of those mentioned and they could all tell you they have more natural ability than the Dubliner. Hell, the guy from the foot of the Dublin Mountains would probably be modest enough to agree.

If anyone knows what it is that has helped Harrington (over) achieve, then they should bottle and preserve it for future generations to study. His career should become a glowing milestone in Irish sporting history but there has always been baggage. The path was rarely smooth and that’s what makes him so endearing.

As an amateur Harrington wasn’t even considered the best international wearing the green of Ireland. Granted his short-game prowess has always been there, but his ball striking and technique was never something those in the know talked about. It was his desire to succeed, even back then.

The countless hours of practice and coaching under the tutelage of Bob Torrance and the mental strength garnered with Bob Rotella are well documented. The proverbial range rat was often the one turning out the light at day’s end.

Even his early days on tour, and all those runner-up finishes, didn’t give indication of what was to come. Sure he was already punching above his weight, advancing beyond the journeyman pro.

We may never get to know the inner belief he possesses but the biggest test of all may still be ahead after what has happened. Perhaps it’s time to de-clutter the mind, not to over analyse the situation.

He’s put us through the ringer this year, but because the good times were back, it was okay. Two-steps forward, one step back, right? Whatever it was that caused him to change tack after collecting three majors in little over 13 months, perhaps only he will ever know. One thing’s for sure only he had the conviction to see the process through when others around thought he was mad.

How could the golfer of three majors immediately dismantle a swing that served him so well and bore so much fruit? To become better of course, as to stand still is to go backwards.

The best player in the world has done it more than once and in that regard Harrington is cut from a similar cloth as Woods. He is one of the few out there with the same desire and dedication to carry such fundamental change through to completion.

Like all true champions, they step out of the comfort zone time and time again. It’s what makes them champions. Others simply wallow in the disillusioned school of hard knocks rather than make the hard yards.

From seemingly nowhere the once guardian of ladybirds and Claret Jugs has been hoisted back into the spotlight but after recent events we are left wondering, can Harrington come back from two cataclysmic soul-destroying errors when in the heat of battle?

Only time will tell.