GOLF/British Open: The tinkering never ends it seems and, even now, just days before the season's third major, Padraig Harrington is undecided about certain things, writes Philip Reid at Hoylake
Does he put a one-iron in his bag in place of a five-wood? Does he ditch his favoured Wilson sand wedge for the old Ping one he used as a junior? Which driver does he use, the one with less spin? Or, if the wind picks up, does he need the one that will create more run on the ball? Decisions, decisions, but, in truth, all of the minor variety as, a month after his near-miss in the US Open at Winged Foot, the Dubliner chases a major title in the British Open at Hoylake.
"I'm as confident and prepared as I ever have been going into a major," said Harrington, who'll be competing in his 33rd major championship come Thursday's first round, where he has been drawn to partner Nick O'Hern and Arron Oberholser.
Much of Harrington's hard preparatory work was done on a visit to Hoylake last Thursday, when he undertook two practice rounds to familiarise himself with the course.
Yesterday, his caddie, Ronan Flood, was kept busy running from the range to the club manufacturers' workshops where various clubs were fine-tuned, while coach Bob Torrance cast an ever watchful eye over his star pupil.
"It's a funny week, time runs (away) so easily. You've just got to ease yourself into it. From now on, it's all about good preparations," said Harrington, one of four Irishmen - along with Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Graeme McDowell - competing at the course which produced Ireland's only major champion, Fred Daly, back in 1947.
Yesterday, Harrington undertook a practice round with O'Hern and Bernhard Langer, as he sought answers to the various club issues. The most serious question on his mind was whether to replace his sand wedge.
"I've had the yips out of the bunker for a while, so I'm considering going back to my very old Ping wedge to see if I can get some (confidence). But, then, that's a problem because I pitch better with my Wilson wedge off the fairway.
"So it's a bit of a Catch 22 . . . I've struggled in bunkers for about 18 months now, badly, so I've changed the (sand) wedge but I haven't fully decided what I'm going to do yet. It's a head thing, a mental thing. I'm considering going back to what I used as a kid just to bring back confidence."
The sand saves situation is on Harrington's mind because the Hoylake course is one that virtually guarantees a player will find a bunker at some stage in his round. On the European Tour, Harrington's sand-save ratio is 56 per cent, while it is 55 per cent on the US Tour (placing him 28th in that category).
"It's something you can hide. You can play a bad bunker shot, but still hole the putt. I've definitely got away with it a bit, but I know myself it's a part of my game that's worse (than it was). You can't hide it from yourself and this week the sand is so soft in the bunkers you won't get a good lie anywhere."
And the chances of avoiding the bunkers throughout the four days? "Nil," he replied. "If you said some guy was going to play 72 holes without hitting a bunker, you've got to say he'd be a strong contender."
Harrington was hoping that yesterday afternoon's practice round would help him finally work out what strategy to use on a course returning to the Open rota for the first time in four decades come competition time.
"I'd be interested to see what other people do. If you are a straight-hitter, would you risk it hitting it in between the bunkers all the time? Because they definitely are a penalty if you go in. Or do you lay up and hit a longer shot into the green?
"Do you leave your driver in the bag and hit your one-iron off the tee and leave a four or five-iron in? Or do you hit driver up there and hit eight-irons in?"
The other day, Ian Woosnam opined that Tiger Woods would have the course for breakfast, if there was no wind. Harrington could see where he was coming from in making such a pronouncement.
"If there was zero wind, that would make a difference. All the (fairway) bunkers seem to be 290-yard carries and if you start getting over the bunkers, life would definitely be a lot easier," said Harrington, who knows that Woods is one of those capable of flying the ball such distances.
But Harrington, too, is no slouch with the driver, and he comes into Hoylake with three top-five finishes (including two runners-up places) in his last four outings.
"My chances? I'm as confident and prepared as I've ever been coming into a major. What does that really mean, though? It's difficult winning any major, but trying to win a major on a links course throws a bit more luck into the equation and is not as easy to predict.
"If I walk away from this week and I haven't won, I'm not going to think it's the end of the world or anything like that. But I'm happy with my game, and I know what I need to do to play my best golf for the week and give it a shot. But the result really is somewhat up in the air and always out of your control."
While Harrington has been paired with Oberholser and O'Hern, Clarke has been given a marquee tee-time alongside US Masters champion Phil Mickelson and Japan's Yasu Imano.
McDowell will play the first two rounds with Lucas Glover and Peter Lonard, and McGinley's first two rounds will be alongside David Duval and Hide Tanihara.
