Pádraig Harrington's work with Dave Alred has left the Dubliner very excited about his form, writes PHILIP REID
IF THE truth be known, they could be a world apart. This week, world number two Rory McIlroy – returning to the scene of his first tour triumph for the Dubai Desert Classic – and Pádraig Harrington, in famed Pebble Beach for the ATT pro-am on the US Tour, resume tournament play with different degrees of urgency.
Whilst McIlroy has alluded to “flushing it” in practice in recent days after his runner-up finish on his seasonal opener in Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago, Harrington – with warm-ups in South Africa and Abu Dhabi that have provided more positives than negatives as he attempts to move up the world rankings from his current position of 93rd – has claimed to feel “as excited as I have for a long, long time”.
The urgency of getting a result, and most probably a win, in Harrington’s case is that this week’s tournaments in places far removed from each other (Dubai and California are separated by 13,150 kilometres and 12 time zones) determine the cut-off point for qualifying for the WGC-Accenture Matchplay in Arizona in two weeks time. The top 64 players of the world rankings qualify for the shoot-out.
McIlroy is one of six Irish players in the field in Dubai, where he is joined by Michael Hoey – who has shown decent form in recent weeks in maintaining his bid for a maiden Ryder Cup appearance later in the year, currently lying ninth on the European points list – as well as Shane Lowry, Peter Lawrie, Damien McGrane and Gareth Maybin.
It is three years since McIlroy made his breakthrough win on tour in Dubai and, now back as the reigning US Open champion, the 22-year-old Ulsterman has returned with one aim.
“Obviously, I want to win again . . . the memories of 2009 are still very strong but I feel as if I’m a more complete player now than I was in 2009.
“I definitely swing it better. I’m able to shape the ball both ways and, physically, I’ve gotten stronger and I feel like I’m definitely headed in the right direction,” said McIlroy, who spent last evening at the cinema with girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki.
This will be McIlroy’s last outing on the European Tour before he heads stateside for a series of tournaments – including two WGCs, the Accenture and the Cadillac – in the run-up to the Masters at Augusta in April.
Harrington’s spring campaign will also see him campaign in the United States, although his participation in those two WGCs remains up in the air and dependent on how he plays at Pebble Beach this week – where competitors play on three courses before the third-round cut ahead of the final day over the links – and, then, the following week’s Los Angeles Open. The cut-off for the Accenture, though, falls after Pebble Beach.
That goal of making the Accenture may be a tough ask for Harrington, but he has headed to California with a pep in his step and clearly with renewed vigour for the tournaments in his schedule ahead of the Masters. One reason for his confidence is the length off the tee – “I’m hitting the ball quite long” – and also the consistency.
“All in all, very happy,” professed Harrington of the shape of his game, especially after working with Dave Alred, the newest member of his back-up team, in Abu Dhabi.
He added: “I am very excited about working with him and I can’t wait to see him again. The work we did was fantastic . . . the best way I could explain it is that he doesn’t have new answers or questions, he merely asks the same questions but in a different way.”
Anyway, that fresh perspective has sent Harrington off for the big weeks ahead with a sense of well-being and excitement that will get its first examination at Pebble Beach in a tournament where he has had two top-20 finishes in his last five appearances.
Tiger Woods, who started his season’s work in Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago where he was in the mix until the final round, kick-starts his US Tour season in Pebble Beach where he is a two-time winner, once of the pro-am and once in the US Open. He has not played in the pro-am since 2002.
