I Like Padraig Harrington For The Open Championship

"As a past champion at the worlds oldest golf tournament, and the last golfer to go back to back in 2007 and 2008, I think Padraig Harrington will be a factor in the Open Championship this year at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. After watching his effort in The Masters where he finished in a three way tie for eighth place with Justin Rose and Adam Scott, as well as a tie for 4th place at US Open, Harrington has all the tools necessary to compete at Lancashire this weekend.July 18, 2012; St. Annes, ENGLAND; Padraig Harrington hits a shot from the rough on the 4th hole during the practice round of the 2012 British Open Championship at Royal Lytham"

Harrington followed a great 2008, where he won both the British Open and the PGA Championship with a mediocre 2009. His game just seemed to go away in 2010 where he made five top ten finishes on the PGA Tour, but also missed six cuts. The magic of 2007 and 2008  had left him. He also missed the cut in three of the four major tournaments.

He was a controversial pick that year by Captain Colin Montgomery for the Ryder Cup Team, where he won two matches and lost two matches. Europe won the Cup that year, and would be the fourth wining team for Harrington in six Ryder Cups.

He had his first victory in two years at the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia on the Asian Tour. By the time 2010 was over, he had dropped to 25th in the World Golf Rankings.

2011 seemed to start well for him at The Abu Dhabi Championship on the European Tour, as he shot an opening round 65, and the first round lead. He was disqualified prior to starting the second round when a spectator phoned in and it was determined that his ball had moved when he was replacing his marker. The movement was slight, but the ball ended up closer to the hole, so he was DQ’d for signing an incorrect score card from the day before. The incident was later reviewed and the rule amended, but for Harrington, the damage had already been done.

He had three top tens in 2011 on the PGA Tour, but had three missed cuts, one of them being at the Masters. He finished the US Open at Congressional tied for 45th, and by years end, had fallen to 50th in the World Rankings.

Harrington played well at the US Open where he had posted 74-70-71 in the first three rounds and started the final round in contention for a win. After bogeying two of the first six holes(A lot of Golfers had bogeys there) he played 7-17 at (-5) five under par, and two strokes behind the current leader Michael Thompson. At two strokes back, he was forced to go for the pin at 18 and plugged himself in the green side bunker. He bogeyed 18 and finished three over par. Turns out he didn’t need the birdie, but would have still finished two strokes behind eventual winner Webb Simpson.

Padraig Harrington is like the rest of the European players who regularly play in adverse weather conditions, and he is used to the British style of Links Golf. He plays well out of sand, and a course that boasts 206 British style pot bunkers throughout the golf course, this trait should come in handy. We all know the freshening wind in North Western England can be a huge factor in defining a British Open Champion, and I think Harrington has as good a game as anyone on tour to handle this problem. He works the ball as well left to right, as he does right to left.

Look for  Padraig Harrington to lift the Claret Jug on Sunday Morning and win his third title, and your 2012 Open Championship.

Follow Me On Twitter @Spin_47