Padraig Harrington’s chances of qualifying for next month’s US Open shortened after a right shoulder injury forced him out after just two holes of the BMW PGA Championship.
Harrington, and currently ranked 83rd in the world, has to rely on qualifying for the US Open at next Monday’s 36-hole qualifier at Walton Heath or finishing top-three at next week’s Irish Open or the following week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis.
Harrington had been in doubt all week with the injury he sustained in the gym earlier in the week but then the triple Major winner had spent last weekend under a blazing sun belting practice balls on the Quail Hollow driving range after missing the cut in the Wells Fargo Championship.
And he had been spotted clearly enjoying a Ben & Jerry’s ‘Cherry Garcia’ ice cream late last Saturday and waiting for valet to deliver his courtesy car just moments before Rory McIlroy ended his round near 6pm local time having posted a career best 66.
Padraig Harrington heads to Wentworth’s first tee and admitting: “My shoulder’s not good.”
In contrast, Harrington could manage to hit less than a dozen balls on the Wentworth range ahead of tee off in what was his very first event on this year’s regular Race to Dubai schedule.
But after a bogey and par start Harrington was clearly in plenty of discomfort after playing a shot from rough at Wentworth’s third.
“My shoulder improved quite a bit overnight and it improved substantially and enough I could play, and a lot of times when I’ve had injuries in the past I have got better as the round has progressed,” he said.
“But this is the first time I’ve ever pulled out of a tournament ever.
“A lot of times when you might carry an injury into a tournament you go have a little bit of an adrenalin release but today it went the other way for me.
“So there’s been times when you’re not feeling 100% and when you compete you soon forget about it, and it’s always amazing how your mind can overcome a bit of pain.
The pain seems to be etched on Padraig Harrington’s face as he drives off Wentworth’s first hole.
“But my shoulder just got worse and on the third tee the pain was exceptional and when I hit a shot out of the rough, it just felt horrible.
“Up until then I was okay walking but after that shot my shoulder began throbbing.”
Harrington’s only other European Tour counting event this year was in contesting the Masters.
But then he was clearly in some discomfort well before teeing off and seen releasing his hand off the short iron clubs in practicing on the range, and when he did pull the driver out of the bag there was hardly any speed in his swing.
Harrington then headed to the practice putting green and hit less than six putts before pulling a banana out of his bag.
In making his way to the nearby first tee he was asked about the state of his shoulder.
“It’s not good,” was his only remark.
Harrington bogeyed the first and after a par at the second advised playing partners Graeme McDowell and Branden Grace he was withdrawing.
The former European Tour No. 1s withdrawal did raise more than a few eyebrows and with comments he denied the first reserve, and in this case England’s Richard McEvoy, the chance to tee up.
McEvoy is currently ranked 150th on the Race to Dubai and has missed the cut in seven of 10 events this year.
However in fairness to Harrington teeing up does now count as 2015 Race to Dubai counting event and he now only has to play in 11 more tournaments to satisfy European Tour membership.
“I thought in teeing up I could expect some improvement and that’s been the M O over the years as when I have played with a lot of injuries, and there has been a number of years when I have played two out of three events I have played with injury and when most played would not have teed up,” he said.
“It’s a bit like the Chinese medicine in that you are taking that you take it and you forget about the injury.
“However I should be back to 100% in a couple of days, a lot better and I can’t see why it should be a long term concern.
“The medical team here confirmed there is no tears in my shoulder so it wasn’t an issue going out there and doing any more damage.
“That was very important in my decision today.”
