Padraig Harrington has won three Major Championship and this week defends his Honda Classic title at PGA National at Palm Beach Gardens in Florida.

However having turned pro more than 20 years ago the now 44-year old says golf lacks ‘hustle’.

By hustle, Harrington was referring to then 21-year old Daniel Berger who the Irishman had defeated a year ago here at PGA National to end a 7-year PGA Tour winless drought.

‘Hustle’ is missing from golf nowadays says Padraig Harrington. (Photo – Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)

“If you want to be a professional golfer out here, really you’ve got to ultimately learn to hustle a bit, and Daniel has that,” said Harrington.

“He’s a fighter and if he hits a bad shot, he’ll still try to get up-and-down.  He won’t worry about that bad shot, and you kind of get that when you’re competing a lot.

“So hustle is what’s kind of missing in golf nowadays.  Everything is ordered. It’s all academies and things like that.”

And Harrington a history of playing golf against one of his older brothers, Colm and then also sitting down to play cards with all his older brothers over the Christmas period as an example.

Padraic Harrington (IRL) defending champion during the preview to the Honda Classic, PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, Florida, USA. 23/02/2016.
Picture: Golffile | Fran Caffrey
All photo usage must carry mandatory copyright credit (© Golffile | Fran Caffrey)

“I learned my hustle at Stackstown Golf Club competing with my brother, Colm and my friends,” he said.

“I was just coming to the stage in my life where I was able to beat Colm, and he was nine years older than me.  I was maybe aged about 14 years of age, and we were playing for a Pound.

“At the fifth hole, I’ve got like this little putt to go 1up, and I’m just about to take it, he says ‘I missed the birdie putt’.  He says, ‘Oh, it’s a pity there are more no birdie holes’.

“But then I started thinking the par five 7th was reachable in two and then I missed my putt.   He completely put me off and it distracted me.”

However Harrington went on to lose the match and the Pound note was soon framed and it’s been hanging in the kitchen of his mother Breda’s family home for some 20 years.

“So I looked at that, as it was the last Pound he won off me,” said Harrington.

And the best hustler nowadays on the PGA Tour?

“You’d have to say Phil Mickelson in terms of pure being able to give it out verbally there in a friendly game,” he said.

“Obviously, he doesn’t do it in a competitive game, but Phil is pretty good at hustling and bustling his competitors.”