“I'm Irish, I do not look at the weather forecast” - Harrington unperturbed by rain as he seeks Champions Tour hat-trick
Padraig Harrington doesn’t know if he’ll find his scoring mojo as he seeks a hat-trick of wins in the Simmons Bank Championship in Arkansas this week.
With bad weather forecast at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock, he’s sure of only one thing - he won’t be looking at any weather apps.
“I'm Irish, I do not look at the weather forecast,” Harrington declared. “It changes every day. We look out the window and see what it's like the next five minutes. That's as far as I go.
“So I don't have a weather app. I have heard that there is a forecast because people keep telling me, but I would never look.
“I have zero control over the weather. I will deal with whatever I get at the moment.”
He added, “See, in the States, your forecasts are really accurate. When you live on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, as we do in Ireland, that forecast, it changes so much; we just don't rely on that. We look out the window.
“I must admit if I were living over here, I would use a weather app. Still, I'm holding out that the weather forecast will change and we're going to have a beautiful sunny week.”
The Dubliner (54) has had another stellar season on the PGA Tour Champions, winning the US Senior Open and the ISPS Handa Senior Open to lie sixth in the Charles Schwab Cup standings with just two events of the campaign remaining.
He’s had just one top 10 since winning the Senior Open at Sunningdale, however, and hopes to score better this week as he bids for his second hat-trick of wins having also won the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open for the third time running in 2024.
“Yeah, you know, the two major wins is great, so that's got to be a successful year,” he said. “I probably haven't played as well in the regular events. I just haven't been getting off to a great start.
“You've got to get scoring well, you've got to get low. I haven't been really holing the putts to shoot the six, seven under pars. I think I shot 20 under here last year or so.
“I do need to get on a good run and see some putts going in, see some low scores. There's nothing wrong with my physical game at the moment. It’s just that I'm not scoring low enough.
“I'm not 100 per cent sure how much it plays into my strengths, but to shoot 20 under par, you're going to have to make a lot of birdies and you're going to have to hole a lot of putts.
“While I don't feel I'm putting badly, I'm certainly not scoring very well.”
Harrington knows his attitude must improve after getting frustrated on his return to the senior circuit recently.
“It's a different mindset on the Champions Tour,” explained Harrington, who is joined in Arkansas by Darren Clarke.
“The Champions Tour is a sprint, whereas a regular tournament can be much more of a marathon.
“That's probably why I've done well in the majors this year, I feel a little bit more relaxed in four rounds, I have more time to be patient.
“So four rounds suits me. I find this very, very quick, 54 holes.
“In the last two tournaments I played, both times I got down on myself, my attitude was bad when I didn't get going quickly, when I put myself under too much pressure to get that low score going on the front nine of the first day.”
