Injured Padraig Harrington is heading to this week’s Monaco Formula One Grand Prix simply to take his mind off missing out on competing in the BMW PGA Championship.
Harrington’s injured right knee has ruled him out of the flagship at Tour HQ in leafy Surrey.
Padraig Harrington with youngsters at R & A clinic at Sunningdale.
The current World No. 48 won’t play again to next fortnight’s St. Jude Classic in Memphis and a week prior to the June 16th starting U.S. Open in Maryland.
However the Dubliner has accepted an invitation from former F1 team boss, Eddie Jordan to be at Monte Carlo for the sixth F1 race of the 19 race season.
It will be his first ever attendance at a round of the F1 World Championship.
This afternoon (Monday) Harrington hosted, in his role as an R & A Ambassador, a junior clinic at the Sunningdale Club and at a course located no more than a five-minute drive from the front gates of Wentworth.
Following the clinic Harrington accompanied by his wife, Caroline attended the European Tour ‘Players Award’ gala dinner and where German Martin Kaymer was named ‘2010 European Tour Player’s Play of the Year’.
Kaymer won the award, voted on by his European Tour peers, from Ireland’s Graeme McDowell who recently won the US Golf Writers Award for ‘2010 Player of the Year’.
But while Harrington was pleased to attend the black tie dinner, it’s been a bitter pill to swallow having to withdraw from this week’s flagship event.
“Actually, my knee was feeling really good on the weekend I was thinking ‘boy’ have I pulled out of the BMW PGA too early,” he said at Sunningdale.
“But it’s gone from being an acute pain in the knee to a persistent pain below the knee so it does seem those physio’s do know a thing or two.
“However I’m gutted, gutted as it’s been so hard to have to withdraw and then being here and so close to Wentworth, as well.
“It’s just so difficult that I would go and play on a goat track and that’s why Caroline are going down to Monaco for a few days and try and not to think about it.
“And let’s just say Eddie is going to look after us which is going to be nice of him.
“But there’s no way I can sit at home and watch another tournament on TV.”
However Harrington had no knowledge when quizzed if he knew who was leading the 2011 F1 Drivers Championship and that’s Geman Sebestian Vettel who’s won four of the five races.
And then beknown to long-time IMG manager, Adrian Mitchell, Harrington revealed he intends playing two lots of nine holes next Wednesday and Thursday at Royal St. George’s.
Harrington is due to be present on Wednesday morning at the Prince’s Club that adjoins the venue for this year’s 140th British Open.
He’s due to christen the ‘Gene Sarazen Bunker’ at the ninth green of Prince’s, and where the American brilliantly captured the 1932 British Open by five strokes.
However it was while standing at the back of the 18th green yesterday (TUES) at Sunningdale that Harrington turned to Mitchell to reveal his intentions to play 18 holes over two days at Royal St. George’s.
And Harrington reaffirmed a prediction he should be fit to take his place in the U.S. Open.
“Memphis will be a tough test and also Congressional the week after, and I feel as though I should be okay,” he said.
“I know when Memphis comes around I will be keen to get out there and I don’t think the U.S. Open will be a big issue for me knee.
“But even though it’s been a strange year, I will be very keen to get back out there.”
