PGA Tour ChampionsBrian KeoghPadraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Doug Barron, Regions Tradition

Handcuffed Harrington all set for Major shootout in Alabama

PGA Tour ChampionsBrian KeoghPadraig Harrington, Ernie Els, Doug Barron, Regions Tradition
Handcuffed Harrington all set for Major shootout in Alabama

Pádraig Harrington

Padraig Harrington admits the golf course has him “playing in a straightjacket” but he’s ready to put that aside and chase down leaders Ernie Els and Doug Barron for his second senior major win in the Regions Tradition in Alabama.

The Dubliner (52) birdied the par-five 18th at Greystone to card a three-under 69 and clinch a place alongside co-leaders Els and Barron in the final group today.

He’s just one stroke behind after Els shot 70 and Barron a 66 to set the pace on 13-under.

But he knows he can’t afford to speculate today, with Steve Stricker just two shots off the lead and tied for fourth as he bids for his fourth win in the event in the last five years.

“I think I was number one in fairways hit yesterday,” Harrington said after a round featuring five birdies and a double-bogey six at the 11th, where he drove out of bounds.  

“Today just wasn’t quite there mentally. Got up and down a lot. So yeah, I got a pretty good score but obviously I was on a decent run when I hit it out of bounds on the eleventh, but this course is like that.  

“Every hole is a dogleg. There’s no balance left and right. I'm playing in a straitjacket. I'm just like, yeah, this place will keep me awake at night.”

The good news is that Harrington is in the final group, which gives him every chance of keeping an eye on the opposition and adding to his win in the 2022 US Senior Open and grabbing his eighth win as a senior.

“I was keen to get in the last group,” he said. “Going into that last round, it will be whoever is the best of us mentally tomorrow, whoever shoots that score tomorrow.”

He added: “What I do know is there are enough guys out there that 70 or even a 69 probably won't be good enough, so somebody who's going to have to play well to win this tomorrow.  

“We're also all lined up in that position. And you know, I’ll try and get in that mindset and not be as defensive as I was today.

“(Stricker) has won three of the last four years so you got to pay attention to Steve here. Ernie played behind me all week and he looks like he's got the bit between his teeth. He looks pretty good too.  

“So, yeah, I think yeah, there's a number of players who won't shy away from winning, which means you’ve got to go and take it yourself.  

“I don't think anybody's going give this tournament away tomorrow, in the sense of there's enough guys up there that somebody's going to go out there and have to have to win it.”

Darren Clarke is tied for 37th on one-under after a 73.

Meanwhile, Leona Maguire goes into today’s final round of the Cognizant Founders Classic tied for 22nd on thee-under.

The Co Cavan star shot a one-under 71 to share 22nd on three-under, a whopping 16 strokes behind her Swedish Solheim Cup teammate Madelene Sagstrom,  who shot a six-under 66 to lead Rose Zhang by one stroke on 19-under.

World number one Nelly Korda, who is seeking his sixth LPGA win in a row, shot 73 to find herself 11 strokes behind Sagstrom on eight-under.

In the PGA TOUR’s opposite-field Myrtle Beach Classic at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club, American Chris Gotterup shot a six-under 66 to lead by four strokes on 14-under from South Africa’s Erik VanRooyen (65), Spain’s Jorge Campillo (67) and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (68).