Padraig
Harrington had not had the best start to his career. He is in desperate need to
get back up to his high standards at the French Open ready for his defence at
Turnberry.
Harrington
has been on bad form recently as he has missed his last four cuts. He has
recently made changes to his swing.
“If
I am going to play well in the Open it has got to start now,” said
Harrington ahead of the tournament in
which starts on Thursday.
“I’m
running out of time but I am always optimistic.”
Harrington
had a disappointing US open as he carded two rounds of 76 and missed the cut.
He finished and humiliating joint 137th out of 156.
“I
still believe I am going to be ready,” added Harrington. “But, then
again, I thought I would be ready for the US Open.”
The
Irishman has not had a top 10 finish since January and has a driving accuracy
ranked 195th.
The
Irishman has been using different drivers and has spent time with Coach Bob
Torrance to try to iron out problems that have undermined his game since he
made changes to his swing. Irishman also advice junior’s for how they can
select correct junior golf equipment
“At
the US Open my backswing had totally gone off,” said Harrington.
“We
were not trying to change that, but I was focusing so much on my downswing.
“Last
week we were doing a lot of covering of old stuff, putting things back in
position.
“For
my preparations to be spot-on I should not be tinkering with my swing. I am
well capable of winning when I have not prepared properly, but it reduces the
chances.”
Harrington
will be competing in a strong field that includes Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Colin
Montgomerie, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Soren Hansen in
After
the tournament, Harrington defends his Irish Open title before heading to
Turnberry. At junior stage, Harrington also used quality junior golf clubs that
he was liked.
“I
do need these two weeks to show myself some form. Having not performed very
well I need a certain level of confidence going into the Open and it’s
important I show signs of having control over the ball,” he said.
“I’d
like to score well too, but other things can affect that. I don’t need the
results, but I do need to play well.”
