ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 1, 2022

Padraig Harrington

Quick Quotes

Q. Yesterday the weather was horrific, ten guys broke par and I would hazard a guess; that a lot of people would have picked you as one of the guys that might have been able to do it. What is mental toughness when it comes to golf?

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON: I'm not 100 per cent sure. It's something that I've always had. There's no doubt you've got to be resilient. But I think when it comes to bad weather, you just have to manage your game and your expectations. It does help, and this it helps to get ahead of the game.

I started okay. I made a birdie early enough. It helps to have a good start and have some momentum in your group. But overall, it's managing expectations and managing your game. Sometimes a good shot, a smart shot is, dare I say, take extra club. And if you hit it well you're going to be past the flag, but the likelihood of that happening in bad weather -- you have to play sensible golf.

No doubt you have to chip-and-putt well which is something I'm good at. A lot of resilience but a lot of good mental fortitude of managing your way around the golf course.

Q. You're a 15-time winner on the DP World Tour; explain what makes a great links player versus normal conditions.

PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON: To be honest we're seeing a lot more golf -- professional golf goes to really nice conditions, everything perfect. And there's a big pool of players now playing and if any one of them plays well, they are great. Whereas you go to links golf, it takes more than swinging a golf club to get around a links golf course.

And sometimes hitting too well is a problem. I saw on TV Rory put it in the water at the first. You don't want to have that strike at times. You have to take your spin off and you have to play sensible shots. I think I had 190 yards to the first; I hit 9-iron just so it would not spin back in the water. You have to be clever at times with not hitting it too well -- is that a terrible thing to say? And other times, you have to hit some great shots.

The first day, I had 230 into 18 green at Carnoustie, and I'm hitting 4-iron and there's trouble everywhere. You just have to hit a great golf shot. Links golf asks that. Sometimes it asks to you hit a great shot and sometimes it asks you to be sensible, play the odds and play the averages and make sure you don't miss that putt.