PGA Tour ChampionsBrian KeoghPadraig Harrington, Dick's Sporting Good Open, Mike Weir, Thongchai Jaidee

Harrington claims second Champions Tour win and targets Charles Schwab Cup

PGA Tour ChampionsBrian KeoghPadraig Harrington, Dick's Sporting Good Open, Mike Weir, Thongchai Jaidee
Harrington claims second Champions Tour win and targets Charles Schwab Cup

Pádraig Harrington won his second PGA Tour Champions title of the season in Endicott, New York

Pádraig Harrington claimed his second win of the season on the PGA Tour Champions when he closed with a five-under 67 to win the DICK'S Sporting Goods Open by three shots in New York.

The Dubliner, who turns 51 on August 31, went into the final round at En-Joie Golf Club in solo second, just one shot behind former Masters champion Mike Weir on 11-under par.

While the Canadian bogeyed the second, Harrington birdied the second and third to move a shot clear, then rolled in a 20-footer for another birdie at the ninth to turn in 14-under par.

He added further birdies at the 11th and 12th and found himself four shots clear of the field at one stage as he carded a five-under 67 to win by three shots from Weir, who shot 71, and Thailand’s Thongchai Jaidee, who shot 66, on 16-under par.

Harrington racked up three runner-up finishes in his first five starts on the US seniors circuit this year before breaking through to win the US Senior Open by a shot from Steve Stricker at Saucon Valley Country Club in June.

In 11 PGA Tour Champions events this season has recorded two wins, four seconds and one third-place finish.

He was second to Darren Clarke in the Senior Open Championship at Gleneagles in July before taking his season’s earnings to $2,437,881 last night as he pocketed a cheque for $315,000.

Harrington’s leap to second in the Charles Schwab money list means he is now likely to skip some planned DP World Tour starts at the BMW PGA at Wentworth and the Alfred Dunhill Links in Scotland.

"I am obviously going to play more now,” Harrington said off his bid to catch Steven Alker, who leads him by $415,000 thanks to his three wins with just nine events remaining.

“I had intended to go home after this trip and play a DP World Tour schedule through September. But I think I will come back now and play at least a couple of those events in September.

”I am a bit behind and Steve who is obviously playing very well and some of the other guys are playing great but the more events I get in, I am got to make it up with numbers.”

Later he added: “I want to play against the young guys, but, you know, there's quite an attraction to being out here. I'm second in the Schwab Cup and I know Steve's a long way ahead, but numbers are very important that if I skip Wentworth, as I said, I'd probably play two out of those three events in September over here and that would be -- give me a great opportunity to make some inroads. Because Steve is obviously going to keep playing well and win some of his own tournaments coming home, so I've got to double down on what he's doing.

“I think that's something you come out here, you're a young guy, you want to win an Order of Merit. The Schwab Cup is it. Yeah, I want to be Player of the Year everywhere I go, so yeah, definitely something I would be focused on and now that I'm in there, definitely something that I'll be looking at for the rest of the season.”

Harrington was also delighted to win with his family on site as his wife Caroline and sons Paddy and Ciarán have been travelling with him for the past few weeks.

“My wife has been to plenty of wins, but my kids have been at some wins but they were only toddlers so they wouldn't know what was going on,” he said. “This is the first time I've won where they're grown up and can understand it more and experience it more. In that sense it was a little bit emotional. You know, I'm happy that they could share the experience and enjoy it. Hopefully, we'll enjoy it for the next couple of days as well.

“Golf is a very odd sport. It's how you did in your last event is always what you think about, how you played your last round, how you hit your last shot. Yeah, I've had an incredibly successful career all the way through. This is a new chapter. Every time you tee it up, you want to win that week and it's new, it's different and it's a different battle.

“I'm never going to change my legacy in golf, even going out and winning another major wouldn't change my legacy in golf, so I'm not going to change that, but I can enjoy the moment. Winning any tournament, test yourself, putting yourself out there and learning is the key.”

To that end, Harrington admits he’s trying to become a far more mellow character when it comes to game time.

“Oh, no doubt about it having your family. I'm pretty good off the golf course, but coming to a round I would be quite pensive and that, so it's something you've always got to work on,” he said. “I play much better golf when I'm in a smiley, happy frame of mind than in a thinking, pensive, overthinking, argumentative, those don't work very well for me. I'm a better golfer when I enjoy it rather than when I knuckle down and put my head down and fight.”