Hungry Harrington
By Kate Burlaga Last updated: 16th April 2008
Harrington: On Golf Night
I've looked around and seen a lot of one-time major winners and I don't want to fall into that category.
Padraig Harrington
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Winning an Open Championship has provided little respite for Padriag Harrington, who told Golf Night he is more "obsessed" with the game than ever.
The Irishman clinched a dramatic play-off victory against Sergio Garcia at Carnoustie in July, but revealed that success has left him even more fearful of failure, and desperate to prove he's no one-hit wonder.
"Probably the biggest thing I've noticed since winning is that I'm more obsessed about golf, I'm more obsessed about practicing," said Harrington.
"You'd think I'd walk away from it with confidence thinking, 'Yes, I've done it now', and relax but I've actually done the opposite. The expectation and the pressure it's brought - I'm going all out to prove I can go and do more.
"I've looked around and seen a lot of one-time major winners and I don't want to fall into that category. It's put more pressure on me internally.
"I find myself probably getting too obsessive about the practicing. I have to be careful not to overwork, that's one of my big problems."
Fear
The 36-year-old, who is the first Irishman to win the Open for 60 years, admits his desire to live up to soaring expectations meant little time basking in Open glory, and he reckons that insecurity is an intrinsic part of his make-up.
"I've actually managed to find fear out of winning the Open Championship and that's quite unique I'd suggest!
"It certainly sums me up in many ways that, even the next week, I didn't have a confidence boost from it. I was back to being myself and out there trying to prove myself.
Now a father of two, Harrington is under no doubt that a work-life balance is crucial to keeping both success and failure in perspective, and is quick to pay tribute to his family's support.
"I definitely work hard to keep the balance and my family has played a big part in my golf and keeping me away from golf. When you have a balanced family life, it makes sure that you don't become obsessive or too obsessive."
"It certainly mellows me out. As you would have seen on the 18th green at the Open, at the 72nd hole, when my son ran on, I forgot everything about golf. It was all about him."
Perhaps another father-son dynamic is responsible for keeping Harrington's feet so firmly on the ground. His own father, Paddy, turned out in gaelic football's equivalent of the FA Cup, and the Irish star says it's Harrington Snr who still attracts the plaudits.
"If I go to Cork, I'm definitely Paddy Harrington's son," he added.
"You would think winning the Open would have changed that a bit but no, the amount of Irish people that come up to me all over the world and say 'I watched your dad play in the 1956/57 All Ireland Final'. That's all the conversation is about. It's a nice way of having it."
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