'I'd love it to happen in my time' - Harrington keen for Portmarnock Open
Padraig Harrington of Ireland looks on from the first tee during the Heros Classic prior to The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 14, 2026 in Southport, England. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)
The R&A admits “we're getting pretty close” to bringing The Open to Portmarnock and Pádraig Harrington is just hoping it happens before he’s done.
The two-time Open champion is exempt until he’s 60, which means he can play until 2032 without needing a special exemption.
Even though he says he’ll be trying to qualify for the game’s oldest Major as long as he can still swing a club, it’s unthinkable that he won’t be playing.
He just hopes the R&A can overcome all the logistical hurdles sooner rather than later.
“Well, first of all, I'd love it to happen in my time,” he said ahead of his 29th appearance in The Open and his bid to become the oldest Champion Golfer of the year.
“Portmarnock could be just an unbelievable venue. It would be the only Open in a capital city, so the crowds, the atmosphere, people come out, the golf course is fantastic.
“It's capable. It has the space to host an event of that size. The golf course is very fair, which is strange for a links golf course. It’s actually got quite flat fairways and flat greens, so I think players will like it.
“It's not a tricky golf course in any shape or form. Maybe 14 is the only hole that you could describe as being quirky enough. And outside of that, yeah, I think players will love the event, love the venue. I think spectators will love it.
“I think it would be a great Irish ‘Open', and if it can match up to Portrush, wouldn't that be great? There's a high standard there on the island. Portrush has been a great Open, and I do believe Portmarnock would be a great Open for the players, which is quite important when you're coming from the players' side.”
Joking, he added: “Am I allowed say it would be a great Open for the spectators and the corporates? I think everybody will enjoy that.”
There are just six weeks to go to Harrington’s 55th birthday but he has not given up hope that he has one more run at a Major in his system.
He didn’t sound too convinced he had the game to contend this week but he knows that if he can survive the first 63 holes, he’ll fear no man coming down the back nine with the Claret Jug on the line.
"Look, could I do it? Yeah, it's physically possible. Physically I'm capable of competing with the young guys. I think mentally I can do..
If I could get in position with nine holes to go, I think other players would worry about me. I wouldn't be afraid to win it in that situation.”
Given the state of the game, after some wild play from the tee over the first three
“I can't say I'm in top form,” he said. “I haven't been driving the ball great. I fixed it this week, but I don't think the fix will be ready. Maybe it will. Maybe it won't.
I’m trying to be optimistic but I just haven't been driving well enough and that needs to turn around.”
That said, he’s still hopeful he can catch lightning in a bottle.
“I'm a great believer that players always tend to win one at the end of their career. Jack won in '86. Tiger won in 2019. There's always one throw out. I'm really hoping mine wasn't the 2015 or ’16 wins (on the main tours). I'm hoping that there's still one in me somewhere else.”
Unlike the Harrington of 2007 or 2008, when he knew his average game was so good he didn’t need a once-in-a-lifetime performance to win a Major, he now has to bring his A-plus game.
“I feel like I have to be perfect this week, and that brings its own stresses,” he confessed.
Still, experience counts for a lot and Harrington’s ability to ‘read’ the rough is uncanny.
This week, he feels it’s going to be more important than ever given that the rough is so dry, there are no flyers
“I've never seen rough like this in my life,” he said. “It's actually weird.
“Normally, I use the rough on a links golf course to get flyers to reach the long-par fours into the wind.
“I've never seen that in all my life of playing links golf. I've never seen the rough play the way the rough is playing…
“Now the ball is reacting. It’s coming out soft. I had 197 yards to the front on 18 there out of the rough. Normally, I’d hit a seven iron out that lie, and I’d comfortably reached the green. I couldn't get there with a good five iron.
“You have no problem if you're 40, 50 yards away. You can get some spin out of it. If you're 100 to 150 yards, it's coming out nice and dead. Once you start getting to 200, 210 yards you're going to have to get in there with a three iron or a five wood, which is never easy.
“I assume it's just the rough turning to dust, so it's not filling the grooves. It's kind of crazy."
"I think this course will reward the good ball strikers, the guys who hit it well—not necessarily a consistent straight ball striker, not necessarily the guys who crushes it, but guys who hits the shot they're expecting to hit. He'll do very well there this week."
