Harrington needs to sharpen up
23/07/2005 - 08:53:10Ireland’s Padraig Harrington today hoped to shake off the rust in his game in the delayed second round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Harrington carded an opening 70, two under par, in Hamburg to lie five shots off the pace set by US Open champion Michael Campbell and Swede Henrik Stenson.
It was a more than creditable effort in his first round since pulling out of the Open at St Andrews following the death of his father last week.
But the ultra-competitive Dubliner was still disappointed to come home in 38 after going to the turn in 32 with four birdies, the final one courtesy of a superb three -iron to three feet on the tough 18th.
“It was going well for a good while but I just hit a few poor, slack shots,” the Dubliner said.
“On the par-five third I laid up into the water and on the last hit a poor wedge with the wind swirling.
“I didn’t really settle on the shot and I suppose I lost three shots on those two holes. I’ll go and hit a few shots and hopefully it will get better.
“It was a pity to let two shots go, four under is a lot better than two under.”
Thursday’s first round was washed out by torrential rain and Harrington admitted the unexpected day off had done him a favour.
“I was very happy to sleep all day on Thursday,” he added. “It was a bonus for me to have the day off.”
Campbell was of the same opinion after a hectic spell which saw him win his first major at Pinehurst and finish fifth at St Andrews last week.
“For me the delay was a blessing in disguise really because it’s been a very exhausting last six weeks and on Thursday I did nothing,” said the New Zealander, who held off Tiger Woods to win at Pinehurst.
“I just slept and watched movies and tried to conserve a lot of energy. I needed to rest and it was more of a positive thing for me than a negative.”
South African Trevor Immelman had his work cut out to defend his title after struggling on the soft greens in the afternoon and only managing a 71.
Jose Maria Olazabal, in the final group alongside Woods on Sunday, fared even worse with four bogeys and no birdies in a 76.
<-- BACK TO STORY