Padraig Harrington said he’s trying to care less after taming the famed Burma Road West Course with just 25 putts in shooting a 69 on the first day of the 2014 BMW PGA Championship.
Harrington’s score is only the 13th occasion in 47 rounds of the course he’s managed to break 70.
“It would be decent round only for Thomas to shoot 10-under,” said Harrington smiling.
“The rain made it play a little easier with soft greens, some easy pins, a couple of tees forward, and it was, dare I say, enjoyable out there.
“And there was no doubt I was enjoying it and that’s to do with working on my attitude and things.
“I managed to recover a number of shots today but putting decent, and was saying that to Darrren (Clarke). It’s just the difference between my score and his score was nothing but a few putts.
The Open Championship winning duo of Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke playing alongside each other for the first two rounds of the 2014 BMW PGA. (Photo – David Lloyd/www.golffile.ie)
“That gets the momentum going and you’re coming to holes trying to make birdie rather than get to the clubhouse with pars.”
Harrington was asked if his par save at the third hole was an example of that momentum.
“You know you’ve got a tough start here but the putt for bogey on seven is a good example,” he said.
“That saved me from making double-bogey on a hole which had the easiest pin of the day. It was a real birdie chance and all of a sudden I’m holing a six or seven footer for bogey. There were a few like that and a few saves to keep it going.
“The three shots I dropped I’d be disappointed with but, overall, the score is better than I played and that’s probably the most important thing for me, to try and take one or two off the golf course every day from how I played because a that’s what I’m good at.”
Could you expand a bit on ‘working on your attitude’ he was then asked.
“Well, you’re always working on your attitude,” he replied.
How do you work on your attitude?
“I’m trying to care less,” he admitted.
“I’m trying to be happier, luckier, freer, more carefree. Any of those words you can think of. Maybe try to create the attitude where you think you are playing well and enjoy it more. Not work so hard at it. All the things you wouldn’t tell somebody but I tend to do the opposite, do it a little over the top. I’ve to work hard to take it easy. And that’s it. It really is a matter of not trying too hard.”#
It then led to the triple Major winner being asked: “How much of the improvement in your putting is perspiration on the practice green and how much is inspiration, confidence and attitude?”
Harrington answered: “I’ve done a lot of work on my putting. I’m reading the greens better. I’ve confidence in how I’m reading the greens. The more this goes on, the more confidence I’ll have in it. For a period there I had the yips and it came from a lack of trust. I hit every putt perfect. I hit a good putt on 16 today that missed and I hit a bad putt on 17 that went in.”
Qn: “Did you get rid of the yips or did they just go away?”
Harrington: “I got rid of them by figuring out what was causing them.”
Qn: “What was causing them?”
“Preperation! More preparation,” he stated.
“It was easier to look at other people and figure out why they were … It was easier to see things in other people. Mine was coming from never making my mind up on the line, then, when I get over the ball, changing my mind and having no trust in my pace.
“You’ve got to make your mind up and then work out the pace of your putt. I wasn’t making my mind up so I was standing over the putt with no feel. So on both sides of things, I wasn’t doing my preparation great.”
Qn: “When did you get to the bottom of that?”
“Only this year because I basically changed how I read the greens and it made a big difference. So that’s one of the big keys, I’m much better at reading the greens and I’m confident in it. Basically, I read the greens now because I know the lines.
“That’s what I do. I’m a pro for 20 years so I could tell you the line of a putt standing at the edge of a green.”
