HORIZON IRISH OPEN

June 30, 2022

Padraig Harrington

Mount Juliet Estate

Quick Quotes

Q. Thank you, very much, Pádraig. You open with a 70. I know that's not the finish you wanted. But given the whirlwind you've been on the last few days, how would you assess your round?

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON: It's a pity with the finish. I was hoping to get 4-under, so I think with 17 and two bogeys, maybe I'm a bit tired. Who knows. It's just a part of the game, isn't it.

Not going to let it -- I knew there would be tough patches this week no matter what, that I would have a struggle. So I'm not going to worry about it, get some sleep tonight. Get up in the morning and hopefully go low tomorrow.

Q. You talked yesterday about the energy of having these crowds around you. Did it help you on the first tee and onward?

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON: It really was great. It's a big crowd well behind me. There was a bit of a buzz, and I played nicely all the way through, so it was okay. It's important to play nice when you have the home crowd. And, yeah, hopefully I can deliver a little bit more tomorrow, but I think the crowds are helping.

Q. Pádraig, 2-under par, 70 to open with. Do you feel your play deserved better?

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON: I think at the end I was hoping, you know, coming in, I was kind of thinking when I got to 3-under par if I could get it to 4 would be a really good day.

Disappointed to drop the shots at the end. You know, I knew there would be tough patches in this week no matter what. Yeah. So I get a good night's sleep, come back tomorrow and hopefully get a good run tomorrow.

Q. You mentioned yesterday that coming off the back of a win, sometimes it can be a bit flat. What are the energy levels like?

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON: Well, I kept myself in the game enough, and the crowds were certainly there helping me. So, yeah, I was okay today I would have said. I think the key is not to -- 2-under is okay, but like if you're any worse, you would be very flat going in tomorrow. At least at 2-under I still have an opportunity to go forward.

And as I said, it is important, when you come to a week -- off a week like that week, that you keep momentum going. And, you know, today, it's certainly no disaster. I think there's plenty guys who went low, and you see that, and hopefully I can be one of those guys tomorrow.

Q. And if you were flagging at any point today, did the crowd help?

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON: The crowds are great. Yeah. You know what, I hit enough good shots that, you know, it was -- there was a nice buzz about it, both my play and practice, we're enjoying that fact, that the -- you know, there were saying -- you know, Lucas was saying it was as big as he'd seen any individuals sort of out there, so it was a nice -- really nice support. Nice to get it. And, look, I always get the support here at home, and maybe today was a little bit bigger than normal, but it's very much appreciated.