Winning is Not Easy
Sometimes a score—or even a trophy—doesn't tell the whole story. It's always a thrill to see a student win a tournament, whether it's a flight trophy at a club championship, a college event, or a Tour event. Seeing Padraig Harrington holding the trophy Sunday night after winning a battle down the stretch with Thongchai Jaidee and Miguel Angel Jimenez at the Hoag Classic in California on the PGA Tour Champions was a thrill, but I'm even prouder of how Paddy has persevered through what has been a challenging winter.
I don't think people realize what has to come together for a player to win at that level. Sure, it's doing the work on your game to stay competitive. But it's also handling adversity—whether it's your body, your schedule or your responsibilities. Paddy had a serious case of pneumonia this winter, and he couldn't practice or train the way he wanted. And when the season did start for him again early this calendar year, he didn't have his usual speed or energy. In those first couple of events, he was pressing trying to get where he wanted to be. A week ago, he got back home to Ireland and it was evident that he was starting to feel better. We had a great week of practice and added some necessary adjustments, he opened on Friday with a 63. You could see he was a man in control of his swing. He made a couple of mistakes on Sunday, but offset a double-bogey on 16 with birdies on 17 and 18 to win by a shot.
Winning anywhere, on any tour, is hard—no matter how many times you do it. It was awesome to see, and it sets the table for major season: The Regions Tradition and PGA and Senior PGA Championship in May, the U.S. and Senior U.S. Opens in June and the Senior Players, British Open and Senior British Open Championships in July. I know Paddy feels like he he has another legitimate run in him on the regular tour, and I'm excited to be part of the team that helps him toward that goal.
