Padraig Harrington confessed he’s ‘clueless’ when it comes to identifying Rory McIlroy’s putting problems.
While Harrington secured his best PGA Championship result of T13th since winning eight years ago, McIlroy slumped to miss the cut for first occasion in eight starts in the year’s final Major.
McIlroy is now taking a three-week break ahead of returning for the August 25th starting Barclays Championship and the opening event of the lucrative FedEx Cup Play-Off Series.
And the long absence from competition will afford McIlroy plenty of time to sort out the shortest club in his bag.
But while the likes of Paul McGinley, Butch Harmon and others have commented on McIlroy’s putting woes Harrington found himself drawn into the debate following his closing round of 68 at Baltusrol.
Rory McIlroy has meltdown with the putter on day one of the 2016 PGA Championship. (Photo – www.pga.com)
“Honestly, I have no idea and I am clueless”, he said.
“That’s the magic question, isn’t it? Everybody would like to sort out their putting and putt better. I would like to putt better. It’s a hard one.
“In 2012, I was at a very low point in my putting and that’s kind of has made me a much more tentative putter ever since. Is it a question of practicing more? Is it a questioning of practicing less and relaxing about it?
“Who knows. If I had the solution, I would be bottling it”.
And while Harrington must be a strong chance for an Olympic medal next week following his rousing PGA showing, he’s not about to get carried away thinking, and with still a month of qualifying remaining, of breaking into the European Ryder Cup team.
“I’m a little late in the game for that”, he said.
“No, I don’t see it happening. I would love to tell you I would go win next week at Travelers, go win — Rio and then — well, I think I would be turning up in Denmark if that was the case.
“Look, I’m just trying to play good golf and play well. I’m happy in the vice-captain role I’m in. If I start winning things, maybe that changes. At the moment it’s not really on my radar.”
Foremost before Harrington heads to Rio this Sunday night is getting himself inside the top-125 who will contest the opening FedEx Cup Play-Off event, the August 25th starting Barclays Championship in New Jersey.
Harrington’s share of 13th place in the PGA Championship saw him jump 11 spots to 129th on the standings with his best finish in 14 PGA Tour counting events since finishing T6th in his opening event last January in Hawaii.
And he’s clearly buoyed by the effort in New Jersey ahead of tee-up in Thursday’s starting Travelers (one L) Championship at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut.
“So many things are better as I’m happy with my swing, getting a lot better with my putting, getting a lot better with my mental side,” he said.
“The only thing I’m not comfortable with which I kind of — my short game, I wouldn’t be.
“Then when I look at the PGA Tour, I’m No. 1 in bunker saves and No. 4 in strokes gained around the greens, but I don’t see it so good and maybe that’s just me.
“I need to change my attitude.
“Everything else is good. I feel good. I would like to take this into every day I play the next number of years. I’m going to take this attitude and I feel like I’m in a great place.”
