Honda Classic win means change of playing schedule for Harrington

Win makes him eligible for five additional tournaments - ‘It’s a nice problem to have’

Padraig Harrington speaks to Irish media, gathered at Dun Laoghaire Golf Club days after his winning the Honda Classic at Palm Beach Gardens in Florida, his first big win in a US Tournament in nearly seven years. Video: Bryan O'Brien

Padraig Harrington's victory in the Honda Classic will demand fundamental changes to his playing schedule for the remainder of the year and also the list of goals, written prior to the start of the season, but he's in no immediate rush to recalibrate either.

Instead he's happy to savour the moment, something he might not always have done in the past. Scheduled to play four tournaments in the run-up to next month's US Masters at Augusta National, and five in succession prior to the Irish Open at Royal County Down, he'll look to tweak that itinerary.

The win at PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens makes him eligible for five additional tournaments including some big money World Golf Championship events so his original schedule will have to change because he's not going to play 35 tournaments this season.

Sitting in Dun Laoghaire Golf Club ahead of a photo-shoot for one of his sponsors, Dunnes Stores , he cut a relaxed figure, explaining: "I am going to try and do my very best in everything; we are going to talk to some of the sponsors, some of the tournaments figure out where we are going.

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“There are at least five more events into my schedule. Considering I played 35 times last year that’s not going to happen again this year but if I add five events, it is going to take some out as well. It’s a nice problem to have.

“Clearly I have played five (tournaments) in a row which is the longest I have played since I was a rookie. That would be another five in a row if I played the four I am (currently) committed to and the Masters and then there would be six in a row just after that and into the Irish Open.

“You wouldn’t want to play four into the Masters and five in to the Irish Open either. There are a lot of commitments but these are nice problems to have. So we are going to figure out a new schedule. I was talking with my manager today and yeah it’s complicated.

“I could tell you it will be 30 but I guarantee you it will be over 30; 32 or something like that. I like playing so it is not a big problem.”

While Harrington has been enjoying his latest success it also provided a salutary lesson when it comes to Twitter. He tweeted a picture from the back of the 18th green in which he posed alongside a couple of friends. Someone suggested he check the notifications.

He took up the story: "The first one comes up and it's giving Ronan (Flood, his caddie and brother-in-law) grief. I read it out to him and had a laugh. Then I read the next one, the next one and the
next one, and said "turn that off". I read four tweets and it's all I'm gonna read in my life. I don't have to put up with that in my life."

John O'Sullivan

John O'Sullivan

John O'Sullivan is an Irish Times sports writer