	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

WGC NEC INVITATIONAL

August 17, 2005

Padraig Harrington

AKRON, OHIO

SCOTT CROCKETT: Padraig, welcome. Last week wasn't quite how you would have wanted it to be, I suppose.

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: It certainly wasn't how I would have wanted it to be. It was not unexpected, but that's you know, I was hoping that I would play well and things would go well for me, but it happened. I didn't get too many breaks and I knew I needed to get some breaks on the golf course in order to sort of get myself into any sort of position. But that's last week.

Obviously we're looking forward to this week, and the good thing about this week is that you need to play golf, and obviously there's four rounds here no matter what. Obviously it's a good competitive week where you're in contention or else it's a good week's work on the golf course.

I need to play golf. I need to get out and play some competitive golf. You know, just the more rounds I get under my belt the better I'm going to get, so this is a good week for me, regardless. If I don't get into contention where there's still some good work to be done this week.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Have you been out already?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: I played nine holes yesterday. It's lovely, played very well. The golf course is playing very well, and it's in nice shape. It's exactly what you expect. It's all there in front of you, like last week's golf course, very fair course.

Q. You're goal driven, so what are the goals for the rest of the season?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: I kind of think it's like starting off a new season, so I'm really thinking to myself I don't tell the goals, do I? I think just try and play consistently from now on to the end of the year, get myself in contention a few times, and hopefully a couple more wins.

Q. Is it hard to get ready after all the majors are done?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: No, not really. Like I kind of feel I'm in a situation that I'm playing till the end of the year, and as I say, like starting a new year trying to really prove yourself again. I've had a couple of weeks this year but my consistency hasn't been there, so I want to get out there and sort of finish off the last three months of the year and finish strong.

It would be easy to finish now and say I've had two wins during the end of the year, that's a great year, thanks very much. But if I play the last three months of the year well, consistently and maybe pick up another win or two, then I can genuinely say it was a good year rather than the two wins are masking a lot during the year.

Next year and two years' time when you look back at 2005, the two wins, my first year on the U.S. tour, I'll be saying, "hey, that must have been a good year." That's the ultimate judge is how often you win. But I know I've been inconsistent this year. Obviously there's many reasons for that, but as I said, if I finish strong the next couple of months, it will be easy for me in my own mind to convince myself that it was a good year.

Q. How much are you playing between now and the end of the year?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: I'm playing the exact same schedule that I would have played every year from now until the end of the year. Same tournaments that I've played more or less every year.

Q. How many more are you going to play over here?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: I've got American Express, Vegas and TOUR Championship, and probably Tiger's at the end of the year, Target.

Q. Was last week roughly where you thought you would be in terms of your game?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: Now, yes. Going into it you're hopeful. You never think yeah, I was hopeful. The interesting thing about my game all year is my golf swing has stayed more or less the same all the time. It's not a swing issue or anything like that. It's much more of a like the summer last year where I didn't play very well during the summer last year, it's a little bit similar to that. I'm not taking it from the range or the practice rounds onto the golf course. That's all to do with mental sharpness, and that's, as I said, what I'm looking for now. I know where I need to be focused and what needs to be turned around for the next three months.

Q. We were just chatting to Tiger. He left, went home on Sunday night when he was two behind, and he was 1 behind in Florida watching it on TV. Have you ever found yourself in a situation like that where you had to make a call like that?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: I drove back from an airport. I was boarding my flight, actually going down to board at the Heineken in Australia. I had shot a good last round, and I was almost ten behind going into that round, I think I shot 63 or something like that, and the field started coming back and back and back. To be honest with you, I was at the airport and I was listening I was checking, and when it got very close, I did go back. As it turned out, it was to no avail, which is often the case, but that would be my attitude anyway. Tiger has won ten majors, so maybe he can go home on a Sunday night. I'd sit it out (laughter).

Q. Does it surprise you to learn, though, that he did?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: I don't know, maybe he had something to do (laughter). Everybody obviously puts priorities on things. I would have sat it out, but that's I have a little bit further to go home, to fly across the ocean.

Q. What did you do after the PGA?

PADRAIG HARRINGTON: I practice some down at the PGA, and then I did some stuff up in Sandwich here, in Ohio, with Wilson there, on Monday. So I took it easy yesterday and I'm kind of taking it easy today.

SCOTT CROCKETT: Thanks, Padraig. Good luck this week.

End of FastScripts.

About ASAP Sports • FastScripts Archive • Recent Interviews • Captioning • Upcoming Events • Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297