NEEDING SOMEONE TO launch their new sports diplomacy policy document this week, the State turned to Pádraig Harrington, which have us the excuse to sit down with Harrington and instruct him to push all modesty to one side to tell us why he believes he has been deemed a great ambassador for Ireland.
At which point he exhaled, leaned back in his chair and said thanks before pausing to consider his reply.
“I’m not sure. I like where I come from. I’d be proud to be Irish. Like turning up today, I try and do as much as I can, in that sense. All athletes in Ireland are willing to do a lot more for causes like this, not in any financial way, but purely to give back.
“It was said earlier we were all influenced by volunteers at some stage along the way, so we all want to give back. What I have got out of golf is incredible. You could have never dreamed of what I got from golf in the eighties. Ireland was just such a miserable place in the eighties. 20% interest rates; you couldn’t get a job; you had to leave the country.
“I didn’t know what was in the world in the eighties. When I was finishing school, I had no idea that there was such a thing as sports management; I had no idea that there was sports psychology. I would never have been a golfer if I knew those things existed. My aspirations were doing accountancy at night to become a country club pro. I didn’t know what was in the world.”
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But of course we might say that Harrington’s golf career has been a life in sports psychology by other means.
“My main focus is playing good golf, no matter where I play”, he says. “It’s always the same with golf. There’s this constant battle in my head between getting my golf swing perfect and ready, and then running out of time to get my mental game ready. That is always the battle. Should I spend more time getting my mental game ready? Most of us will chase the technical proficiency first and put the other on the long finger.
“Ronan [Flood, Harrington's long-serving caddie] reminds me every year – and many times during the year – ‘You do know you’re running out of time’ as I chase this perfection, while at other stages he will say, ‘You do know you have earned the right to chase this perfection? You have done enough and don’t owe anyone.’”
But the chase for perfection goes on.
Harrington’s 2026 schedule is a testament to his inability to go easy on himself. Having made his 500th career start on the DP World (née European) Tour in Qatar at the start of February, Harrington is spending a few weeks practising at home before heading Stateside for a forbiddingly packed schedule on the Champions Tour along with appearances at all of the majors aside from the Masters. And given his preference is always to compete on the week before a major, he is potentially facing a run of 13 tournaments across 14 weeks.
Harrington wins the 2025 US Senior Open. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
“I don’t write my goals down at the start of the year”, says Harrington. “I did, of course I did all those young things back in the day. I am aware of where I am playing and which ones are important to me. I played for four weeks and I’ve come home and in two-and-a-half weeks I have hit thousands of balls, trying to tear my swing apart. That is just who I am. There’s no long-term focus in me at all. It can be a bit of a killer: I am absolutely looking for the very best version of Pádraig Harrington, rather than an adequate version of Pádraig Harrington.”
While he hopes to be able to ignite at the majors, Harrington’s primary focus this year will be on the Champions Tour, on which he won two majors last year. Stewart Cink beat him to the overall, end-of-year Charles Schwab trophy, however, with former Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson arriving this year and likely to provide further competition.
And that’s before we consider the fact that Tiger Woods is making noises about competing on the senior circuit.
“The Champions Tour style of golf courses will really suit Tiger”, says Harrington. “He could do exponentially well, being a good iron player and a good wedge player. It’s hard to know with Tiger as he doesn’t play enough, but he would like Champions Tour life and golf if there’s enough competition in it for him. The courses are like playing the courses he would have won on 20 years ago.”
Harrington has plenty of experience of playing Woods at his peak, and he is asked how he believes he could handle duelling with Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler down the stretch were he to find himself in that position.
“I’d relish it, absolutely. Peak Pádraig Harrington would be grand with nine holes to play. But I have never been in contention with Rory and obviously not with Scottie. If it was coming down the stretch, I’d have so many battles and demons with myself that it wouldn’t really matter who was on the opposite side. It would be much more to do with me. It was like when you were battling Tiger down the stretch: the key wasn’t to beat Tiger, the key was to try and not beat yourself.”
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'You could have never dreamed of what I got from golf in the eighties - Ireland was such a miserable place'
NEEDING SOMEONE TO launch their new sports diplomacy policy document this week, the State turned to Pádraig Harrington, which have us the excuse to sit down with Harrington and instruct him to push all modesty to one side to tell us why he believes he has been deemed a great ambassador for Ireland.
At which point he exhaled, leaned back in his chair and said thanks before pausing to consider his reply.
“I’m not sure. I like where I come from. I’d be proud to be Irish. Like turning up today, I try and do as much as I can, in that sense. All athletes in Ireland are willing to do a lot more for causes like this, not in any financial way, but purely to give back.
“It was said earlier we were all influenced by volunteers at some stage along the way, so we all want to give back. What I have got out of golf is incredible. You could have never dreamed of what I got from golf in the eighties. Ireland was just such a miserable place in the eighties. 20% interest rates; you couldn’t get a job; you had to leave the country.
“I didn’t know what was in the world in the eighties. When I was finishing school, I had no idea that there was such a thing as sports management; I had no idea that there was sports psychology. I would never have been a golfer if I knew those things existed. My aspirations were doing accountancy at night to become a country club pro. I didn’t know what was in the world.”
But of course we might say that Harrington’s golf career has been a life in sports psychology by other means.
“My main focus is playing good golf, no matter where I play”, he says. “It’s always the same with golf. There’s this constant battle in my head between getting my golf swing perfect and ready, and then running out of time to get my mental game ready. That is always the battle. Should I spend more time getting my mental game ready? Most of us will chase the technical proficiency first and put the other on the long finger.
“Ronan [Flood, Harrington's long-serving caddie] reminds me every year – and many times during the year – ‘You do know you’re running out of time’ as I chase this perfection, while at other stages he will say, ‘You do know you have earned the right to chase this perfection? You have done enough and don’t owe anyone.’”
But the chase for perfection goes on.
Harrington’s 2026 schedule is a testament to his inability to go easy on himself. Having made his 500th career start on the DP World (née European) Tour in Qatar at the start of February, Harrington is spending a few weeks practising at home before heading Stateside for a forbiddingly packed schedule on the Champions Tour along with appearances at all of the majors aside from the Masters. And given his preference is always to compete on the week before a major, he is potentially facing a run of 13 tournaments across 14 weeks.
“I don’t write my goals down at the start of the year”, says Harrington. “I did, of course I did all those young things back in the day. I am aware of where I am playing and which ones are important to me. I played for four weeks and I’ve come home and in two-and-a-half weeks I have hit thousands of balls, trying to tear my swing apart. That is just who I am. There’s no long-term focus in me at all. It can be a bit of a killer: I am absolutely looking for the very best version of Pádraig Harrington, rather than an adequate version of Pádraig Harrington.”
While he hopes to be able to ignite at the majors, Harrington’s primary focus this year will be on the Champions Tour, on which he won two majors last year. Stewart Cink beat him to the overall, end-of-year Charles Schwab trophy, however, with former Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson arriving this year and likely to provide further competition.
And that’s before we consider the fact that Tiger Woods is making noises about competing on the senior circuit.
“The Champions Tour style of golf courses will really suit Tiger”, says Harrington. “He could do exponentially well, being a good iron player and a good wedge player. It’s hard to know with Tiger as he doesn’t play enough, but he would like Champions Tour life and golf if there’s enough competition in it for him. The courses are like playing the courses he would have won on 20 years ago.”
Harrington has plenty of experience of playing Woods at his peak, and he is asked how he believes he could handle duelling with Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler down the stretch were he to find himself in that position.
“I’d relish it, absolutely. Peak Pádraig Harrington would be grand with nine holes to play. But I have never been in contention with Rory and obviously not with Scottie. If it was coming down the stretch, I’d have so many battles and demons with myself that it wouldn’t really matter who was on the opposite side. It would be much more to do with me. It was like when you were battling Tiger down the stretch: the key wasn’t to beat Tiger, the key was to try and not beat yourself.”
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Golf Padraig Harrington