Padraig Harrington dispelled any lingering injury fears ahead of the next fortnight’s U.S. Open after playing 36-holes on two British Open venues.
Harrington had to miss last week’s flagship BMW PGA Championship due to a reoccurrence of a right knee injury.
The triple Major Champion had been advised by specialists to rest the leg ahead of the June 16th starting U.S. Open at Congressional.
Triple Major winning Padraig Harrington opens 'The Sarazen Bunker' at Prince's Golf Club and dispels any lingering fears over his injured knee.
But after hosting a corporate outing in Kent, Harrington played 18 holes at Royal St. George’s and host venue for July’s British Open Championship.
The course is rock hard with little rough given the early summer conditions to hit much of Britain, and conditions already worrying the R & A.
Harrington was then so confident with the improvement in his leg, he stayed overnight in Sandwich and played a full round at Prince’s and host venue for the 1932 British Open won by legendary Gene Sarazen.
“My leg seems great and there was no problems with it whatsoever,” he said.
“It was wise to take last week’s BMW PGA Championship even though I doubted myself that I may have withdrawn too early.
“So the rest from competition has done it good, and I was really pleased to be able to get a full 18-hole look at Royal St Georges becasue it’s been eight years since I was here last.”
Harrington had travelled to Kent for a Wilson Staff corporate outing at Prince’s that literally laid out adjacent to Royal St. George’s.
Harrington unveiled a new bunker on Prince’s ‘Himalaya’s course in honour of Sarazen, also a Wilson Staff player.
Padraig Harrington inspects Gene Sarazen wedges
It was at Prince’s where Sarazen won by five shots that inspired the American to invent the modern sand wedge.
Harrington then stepped into the renamed ‘Sarazen Bunker’, located over the original bunker to the left of the ninth green, and played a shot using the original hickory-shafted club that Sarazen played nearly 80 years ago to win the event.
‘Harrington Airlines Flight PH 001’ leaves Dublin for Memphis, Tennessee later this weekend with Harrington to contest the St. Jude Classic where Lee Westwood is defending.
The craft will then wing it’s way north east to Maryland for Harrington’s 14th U.S. Open appearance.
It was as Congressional in 1997 where Harrington made his U.S. Open debut shooting rounds of 75 and 77 to miss the halfway cut but still earn $US 1,000 for his trouble.
