As Pádraig Harrington puts it himself, “there’s only one reason a professional golfer gets into the Hall of Fame and that’s his performance, it’s purely down to results.”
Harrington will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Monday before the US Open and his place alongside legends of the game is richly deserved and should act as an inspiration for aspiring young professionals that you should be driven to get the absolute maximum out of your game.
Despite turning professional at the late age of 24, Harrington went on to win fifteen times on the European Tour, six times on the PGA Tour, including three major championships while he also played on four winning Ryder Cup teams for Europe.
“What would I like to be remembered as a golfer? I hope to be remembered as someone who was a competitor, as someone who loved the game of golf, loved the rules, the etiquette. These things don’t get you into the Hall of Fame. Being fastidious about rules is not going to get you into the Hall of Fame,” said Harrington.
The Dubliner opened the floodgates for a golden period in Irish golf. He captured the 2007 Open Championship beating Sergio Garcia in a playoff at Carnoustie to become the first Irish winner in 60 years. He then became the first golfer since James Braid in 1906 to successfully defend the Claret Jug a year later in Royal Birkdale. Just three weeks later he held off Garcia again to capture the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.
Harrington was a true competitor and three playoff wins suggest as much.
“My peers will remember me as a hard worker who got the most out of his game, who was a real tough competitor.
I’d like to be the guy who that you don’t want to play against in a play-off. That guy “You know what? I’d rather not be in a play-off with him as he’s likely to do anything to win. Somebody’s who’s prepared to really compete and dig deep.”
“McGinley said you were always looking to win majors, destiny as it were. Howard Bennet said you always had a want, fair assessment.
“This is my personality. Being a doer, someone who tries, someone who’s competitive. Being as tough as can be, but fair. I feel like I was a tough competitor. I feel like my competitors believe that. In me, I always wanted to be tougher, but I wanted to be very, very fair in the way I played, let my clubs do the talking.”
During a media roundtable, Harrington, now 52, was feeling aches and pains in his fingers from hitting so many golf balls earlier that day. Even on his weeks away from competing there are no days off.
Harrington has always stood out as a workhorse but it is a work ethic driven by an insatiable desire to win. Growing up in Stackstown in the foothills of the Dublin mountains, he won at Boys level, Senior level, played in Walker Cups even staying as an amateur for a few years longer to finally win a Walker Cup at the third attempt.
He loved to dominate his pool before moving on and his professional career is a reflection of that. Winning on tour, competing in majors, playing in Ryder Cups, winning the Irish Open, winning a major but still having the determination to win a second and a third.
He hasn’t given up hope of one last back nine lash for a fourth either.
“It became very evident that’s what I wanted. I’d an insatiable desire to get better, at all levels whatever I was going. As amateur I was always better in my pool. I much preferred dominate in my own area. I didn’t play pro golf until I was 24, which was incredibly late. I was only interested in winning where I was at.
“When I turned pro, that success manifested itself when I through ’99 and started winning again, making Ryder Cup teams. The next progression was winning majors and it became….I obviously paid attention a lot.
“When Phil Mickelson was giving his winners speech in 2012, he talked about majors in the plural. He wanted to make sure the one major didn’t become a sticking point.
“I learnt that. You’ve got to set your goal as a number of majors. Deep down there was probably two or three in my head. I wish I had 5/6/7/8 in my head. Deep down I wanted to win majors. I definitely didn’t want to win one major. I was really scared of that one. And I’ve looked at players who’ve won one, it becomes a burden in their career and it’s only when they get to retire, they get to enjoy it. It can never be taken away from them.
“I always wanted that second one. I got the third one pretty quickly. In my head, there was that factor, two was brilliant. Maybe the third one was a bonus. I can’t say I could have sat back in 2000 and said I should win five or six majors.
“When you look at modern era of golf, I’m tied 30th all time in major wins. They just don’t come around as quickly as you think. I’m happy to have got my three. No doubt, they’ve got me in the Hall of Fame.”
Nowadays, Harrington has seven Champions Tour wins including a US Senior Open and one of his big summer goals is to win the Senior Open at Carnoustie and complete a nice double seventeen years on.
The incoming Hall of Famer is also a star presence on social media for his Paddy’s Golf Tips YouTube channel while he has also opened up a recreational putting green in Marlay Park.
Harrington will be up there in the debate for Ireland’s greatest sportsman for his ability to give back as much as his ability on the golf course.
“At this stage of my life what will I be remembered for? That’s the golfing side of it. Maybe things like, the coaching side of it, Paddy’s Golf Tips, maybe Marlay Park Putting Green. Things like that at this stage of your career mean a lot to you.”