Pádraig Peter Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish
professional golfer who plays on the
European Tour,
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
and the
PGA Tour Champions. He has won three
major championships:
The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
in
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
and
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
and the
PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...
, also in
2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
. He spent over 300 weeks in
the top-10 of the world rankings, and reached a career-high ranking of the third spot in July 2008. Harrington was a member of six consecutive
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...
teams between 1999 and 2010. In 2024, he was inducted into the
World Golf Hall of Fame.
Background
Harrington was born in
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, the youngest of five sons of Patrick and Breda Harrington. His father,
"Paddy" (1933–2005), a
Garda who played
Gaelic football
Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
for
Cork in the 1950s, was also a
boxer and
hurler, and played to a five handicap in golf.
He grew up in
Rathfarnham
Rathfarnham () is a Southside (Dublin), southside suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland in County Dublin. It is south of Terenure, east of Templeogue, and is in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and Dublin 16, 16. It is between the Lo ...
, an area on Dublin's southside and the birthplace of two other professional golfers,
Paul McGinley
Paul Noel McGinley (born 16 December 1966) is an Irish professional golfer who has won four events on the European Tour. At the 2002 Ryder Cup, he famously holed a ten-foot putt on the 18th hole in his match against Jim Furyk at The Belfry which ...
and
Peter Lawrie. Harrington attended the same local secondary school as McGinley (though not in the same year), giving their school,
Coláiste Éanna, the unique distinction of having produced two
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...
captains. Encouraged by his brothers and father, Harrington's interest and passion for golf grew as he developed his game at nearby Stackstown G.C.
Professional career
European Tour (1996–2007)
After a successful amateur career, including winning the
Walker Cup
The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...
with the Great Britain & Ireland team in his third appearance in 1995, Harrington turned professional later that year, joining the European Tour in 1996.
Harrington came to professional golf at a relatively late age, having studied
accountancy
Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activities and conveys ...
at university for a number of years while playing high-standard amateur golf.
He was unsure whether to turn professional, initially doubting his skills.
His first victory came quickly, in the 1996
Peugeot Spanish Open, his 10th start on the European Tour. But for the next few years, the most remarkable thing about his career was the number of times he finished second in European Tour events without ever bettering that position, including four second-places in five events in late 1999. With these runners up finishes Harrington qualified to make his
Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...
debut in
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
. During this period outside of the European Tour circuit Harrington won the 1998
Irish PGA Championship.
However, in 2000 Harrington discovered a winning touch with two
European Tour wins at the
Brazil São Paulo 500 Years Open in April, and the
BBVA Open Turespaña Masters Comunidad de Madrid in October. With these wins Harrington finished 7th on the European Tour Order of Merit for the second time equaling his 1999 finish.
In 2001, Harrington won his fourth tournament on the European Tour at the
Volvo Masters Andalucia, this win and 6 runners up finishes in 2001 lifted Harrington to a then career-high year-end finish of second on the European Tour's Order of Merit.
[
2002 was another successful year on the European Tour with particular success towards the end of the season including winning at the Dunhill Links Championship in October, having birdied the final hole to get into a playoff with Eduardo Romero. This win and a further 9 top ten finishes earned Harrington a second-place finish on the European Tour's Order of Merit for the second consecutive season.][ This form earned Harrington a second ]Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...
appearance at the 2002 Ryder Cup hosted at The Belfry
The Belfry is a golf resort and hotel in Wishaw, Warwickshire, close to Sutton Coldfield, England, located approximately 8 miles from the centre of Birmingham. It was acquired by KSL Capital Partners in August 2012.
The resort has three golf ...
, in the final day singles Harrington, playing in match 5, won an important point against Mark Calcavecchia helping Europe to victory and regain the cup by a score of 15.5 to 12.5.
Harrington continued this winning form into 2003 winning the first event of the 2003 season at the BMW Asian Open in November 2002. Following Harrington's success in 2001 and 2002 he was invited to, and won, the 2002 Target World Challenge, an unofficial event in the USA hosted by Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
, whilst this is not a PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
event it marked Harrington's first win in the United States. His winning form continued into the new year winning the Deutsche Bank Players Championship of Europe in May 2003. With these two wins Harrington finished third on the 2003 European Tour Order of Merit.[
Harrington won a further two events on the European tour in 2004 at the Omega Hong Kong Open in December 2003 and the Linde German Masters in September 2004. Harrington finished the season 3rd on the European Tour's Order of Merit, this was the 4th consecutive year in which he was within the year end top-5 and the 6th consecutive year in the top-10.][ Harrington once again qualified for the 2004 Ryder Cup, hosted at Oakland Hills Country Club where he was part of a European team that defeated the United States by the largest winning margin by a European team in the history of the event.
In 2005 having joined the ]PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
(see below), Harrington played fewer events on the European Tour and experienced his first winless year on the tour since 1999.[ In 2006 Harrington was once again a winner on the European Tour at the 2006 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, this was his second links golf win having also won the event in 2002 and was a prelude for his future Open Championship success. Following this Harrington won the 2006 European Tour Order of Merit,][ coming after a titanic battle with ]Paul Casey
Paul Alexander Casey (born 21 July 1977) is an English golfer who is a member of LIV Golf. He has also played on the US-based PGA Tour and the European Tour. In 2009, he achieved his highest position, third, in the Official World Golf Rankin ...
and David Howell, which was won on the last hole of the last event. Sergio García bogeyed the 72nd hole in the season-ending Volvo Masters to give Harrington a share of second place which earned him enough money to leapfrog Paul Casey
Paul Alexander Casey (born 21 July 1977) is an English golfer who is a member of LIV Golf. He has also played on the US-based PGA Tour and the European Tour. In 2009, he achieved his highest position, third, in the Official World Golf Rankin ...
to 1st place on the Order of Merit.
In 2007 Harrington won the Irish Open for the first time, in doing so Harrington became the first home winner of the Irish Open for 25 years.
Harrington won the European Tour Golfer of the Year award in 2007 and 2008.
In both 2003 and 2004 he was the runner-up in The Players Championship
The Players Championship (commonly known as simply The Players, stylized by the PGA Tour as THE PLAYERS Championship) is an annual golf tournament on the PGA Tour. Originally known as the Tournament Players Championship, it began in 1974. The ...
, and in the latter year, he won enough money on the PGA Tour as a non-member to earn an invitation to the end of season Tour Championship
The Tour Championship (stylized as the TOUR Championship) is a golf tournament that is part of the PGA Tour. It has historically been one of the final events of the PGA Tour season; prior to 2007, its field consisted exclusively of the top 30 ...
.
PGA Tour
He took membership of the PGA Tour in 2005 and in March he won his first PGA Tour official money event at the Honda Classic, where he beat Vijay Singh and Joe Ogilvie in a sudden-death playoff. In late June, Harrington snatched the Barclays Classic from Jim Furyk with a spectacular eagle putt on the final hole for his second PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
win. Two weeks later his father died from oesophageal cancer on 11 July, the Monday night preceding the 2005 Open Championship, forcing Harrington's withdrawal.
Harrington spent over 300 weeks in the world top ten between 2001 and 2010. and achieved his best ranking of third following his second Open Championship victory. He has also played for Europe in six Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...
s; losing in 1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
and 2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, but winning in 2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, 2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
and 2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
. He has also won the par-3 contest at Augusta National, held the day before The Masters
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major golf championships, men's major championships in Professional golf tours, professional golf. Schedul ...
, in 2003 (tie), 2004 and 2012 (tie).
Major championship breakthrough
At the 2007 Open Championship, Harrington defeated Sergio García in a four-hole playoff at Carnoustie Golf Links, becoming the first Irishman to win The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
in 60 years, and the first ever from the Republic of Ireland. Both players went into the playoff having shot a 7-under 277 for the championship. Harrington subsequently won by one stroke in the playoff.
A year later at the 2008 Open Championship, it was unclear if he would get a chance to defend his Open title at Royal Birkdale as eight days prior to the event he injured his wrist. But Harrington successfully defended his title, overcoming a 2-shot deficit to Greg Norman
Gregory John Norman (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian former professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as List of World Number One male golfers, world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 88 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA ...
with a final round 69. He shot a four-under-par 32 on the back nine, which enabled him to pull away from Norman and Ian Poulter
Ian James Poulter (born 10 January 1976) is an English professional golfer who plays in the LIV Golf League. He has previously been ranked as high as number 5 in the world rankings. The highlights of Poulter's career to date have been his two ...
. His eagle on the par-5 17th all but sealed the tournament. He is the first European golfer since James Braid in 1906 to retain the Claret Jug. The win moved him from fourteenth to third in the world rankings, behind only Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
and Phil Mickelson
Philip Alfred Mickelson (born June 16, 1970) is an American professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf League. He has won 45 events on the PGA Tour, including six Men's major golf championships, major championships: three Masters ...
.
Just three weeks after winning the Open Championship, Harrington won the PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...
over the South Course of the Oakland Hills Country Club, for his third major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
. Although at five over par after two rounds, he shot eight under par for the weekend, carding successive scores of 66 in the third and fourth rounds. His three under par 277 was two shots ahead of Sergio García and Ben Curtis. Harrington became the first European to win the PGA Championship in 78 years ( Tommy Armour in 1930), and was the first winner from Ireland.
Aside from Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
, who has won consecutive majors three times (2000, 2002, and 2006), Harrington was the first golfer to win two majors in the same year since Mark O'Meara in 1998 and the first to win consecutive majors in the same year since Nick Price
Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957) is a Zimbabwean former professional golfer who has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice (in 1992 and 1994) and The Open Championship in 1994. In the mid-1 ...
in 1994. This feat has since been achieved by Rory McIlroy in 2014, winning the Open Championship and PGA Championship, as well as Jordan Spieth who won the Masters and the U.S. Open in 2015. Harrington's victory in the PGA Championship secured his position as the number one player in Europe, earning him a spot in the 2008 European Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...
team under captain Nick Faldo.
2009: First winless year for a decade
Harrington started his 2009 season with a tied-fifth finish in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship on the European Tour. He then went through a tough period in his career, missing the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, as well as the Northern Trust Open on the PGA Tour. He finished tied-11th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in what would be one of his better results in the early part of 2009. He arrived at the 2009 Masters Tournament
The 2009 Masters Tournament was the 73rd Masters Tournament, held April 9–12 at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. Ángel Cabrera, age 39, won his second Men's major golf championships, major title in a playoff over Chad Campbell an ...
hoping to join Ben Hogan
William Ben Hogan (August 13, 1912 – July 25, 1997) was an American professional golfer who is generally considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the game. He is notable for his profound influence on golf swing theory, hi ...
and Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
as the only players to win three consecutive professional majors. Harrington started with a 3-under-par first round, but eventually faded over the weekend, finishing tied for 35th place. His struggles continued in the succeeding months, as he missed the cut at five of his next six events, including The 3 Irish Open and the U.S. Open. It was during this period that he announced that he was working on swing changes with coach Bob Torrance.
Harrington arrived at The Open Championship
The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
at Turnberry hoping to complete a hat-trick of Open wins, a feat that has only been achieved since the 1880s by Peter Thomson. He ended up finishing tied for 65th place. At the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational he was involved in a final day head-to-head between himself and World number one Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...
. Harrington led by one shot playing the 16th hole, but he racked up a triple-bogey to Woods' birdie and he finished in joint 2nd place. The following week Harrington, the defending champion, played the first two rounds with Woods at the PGA Championship
The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. The PGA is one of the four men's major golf champi ...
. He shot a first-round 68, ending one shot behind the leader Woods. Rounds of 73 and 69 left him two shots behind Woods. He was in contention in the final round, until he made an 8 at the par-3 8th hole. He ended in a tie for 10th. He finished in the top 10 in all four FedEx Cup
The FedEx Cup is the championship trophy for the PGA Tour. Its introduction in 2007 marked the first time that men's professional golf had a playoff system. Since its inception, the competition has been sponsored by FedEx. In 2022, the PGA Tour ...
playoff events, before further top-10s in Europe and the States before the end of the season. He ended the year winless on the European and PGA Tours for the first time since 1999.
2010–present
Harrington missed the cut in three out of the four majors in 2010. In an inconsistent season, he had five top-10s on the PGA Tour but also missed six cuts. He was a controversial wild-card pick by European captain Colin Montgomerie for the 2010 Ryder Cup
The 38th Ryder Cup was held 1–4 October 2010 at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport, Wales. It was the 17th time the Ryder Cup had been staged in United Kingdom, Britain, but the first time in Wales. It was played on the newly constructed ''Tw ...
. He won two matches and lost two matches as Europe regained the Ryder Cup. It was his sixth Ryder Cup and fourth time being on the winning team. He won his first tournament in two years at the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia on the Asian Tour
The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf professional golf tours, tour in Asia except for Japan (which has its own Japan Golf Tour). It is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on ...
. He finished the year ranked 25th in the world.
Harrington started his 2011 season with an opening round 65, for a first-round lead at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on the European Tour. He was later disqualified before his second round commenced, after a spectator telephoned in and pointed out an incident of his ball moving an exceptionally small distance closer to the hole on the green, while he was replacing his ball marker, during the first round; it had been shown on television. (The incident led to a rules review, and if it were to occur again, there would not be a penalty.) He missed the cut at the Masters Tournament
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major championships in professional golf. Scheduled for the first full week in April, the Masters is the ...
and finished tied for 45th at the U.S. Open. In June 2011, he dropped outside the top 50 in the World Rankings for the first time since 1999.
Harrington made his first start of the 2012 PGA Tour season at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am where he finished joint top of the Pro-Am leaderboard, alongside partner J.P. McManus, with Brian Harman and Greg Ontiveros. Harrington also enjoyed a good finish in the overall tournament with a tied for seventh finish. In March 2012, Harrington shot a 61 in the first round of the Transitions Championship to set a new course record at the Copperhead Course. This was also Harrington's lowest-ever round on the PGA Tour. He could not maintain his brilliant first day's play over the remaining three rounds though and finished in a tie for 20th place. In April 2012, at the first major of the year, The Masters
The Masters Tournament (usually referred to as simply the Masters, or as the U.S. Masters outside North America) is one of the four men's major golf championships, men's major championships in Professional golf tours, professional golf. Schedul ...
, Harrington shot five under for the last six holes in his third round to close to within three shots of the lead. In the final round, he shot a level par round of 72 to finish tied for 8th. It was Harrington's first top-10 finish in a major since the 2009 PGA Championship.
At the 2012 U.S. Open, Harrington was in contention to win a fourth major championship, when rounds of 74-70-71 on the first three days got him into contention on Sunday. After bogeying two of the first six holes, Harrington played the stretch from hole 7–17 in 5-under-par to find himself two behind the leader. Needing a birdie at the last to finish ahead of the clubhouse leader Michael Thompson, Harrington took the pin on at the 18th and found a plugged lie in the greenside bunker, which resulted in a bogey finish at 3-over-par. Ultimately this did not cost him the championship as he finished two shots behind Webb Simpson
James Frederick Webb Simpson (born August 8, 1985) is an American professional golfer on the PGA Tour who won the 2012 U.S. Open and the 2018 Players Championship.
As an amateur, he was a member of the United States' victorious 2007 Walker C ...
on 1-over-par. Harrington later stated that he thought he had to birdie the last to get to 1-over-par as the reason for taking such an aggressive line on the 18th. He eventually finished in a tie for fourth place, which represented his best showing at a U.S. Open.
In October 2012 Harrington won the PGA Grand Slam of Golf despite having not won a major championship during the year, having been a late replacement for Open
Open or OPEN may refer to:
Music
* Open (band), Australian pop/rock band
* The Open (band), English indie rock band
* ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969
* ''Open'' (Gerd Dudek, Buschi Niebergall, and Edward Vesala album), 1979
* ''Open'' (Go ...
champion Ernie Els. Harrington endured difficult 2013 and 2014 seasons finishing outside of the top 60 on the European Tour Race to Dubai in both years and outside of the top 130 on the PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
FedEx Cup in both years. During this period his Official World Golf Ranking
The Official World Golf Ranking is a system for rating the performance level of professional golfers. It was started in 1986. The rankings are based on a player's position in individual tournaments (i.e. not pairs or team events) over a "rolling ...
fell to an 18-year low of 385 as of 1 December 2014. In December 2014 he won the Bank BRI Indonesia Open on the Asian Tour
The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf professional golf tours, tour in Asia except for Japan (which has its own Japan Golf Tour). It is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on ...
for his first official win for 4 years.
In March 2015, Harrington won his first title on the European or PGA Tours in seven years at the Honda Classic. He defeated rookie Daniel Berger on the second extra hole of a sudden-death playoff. Harrington had started the 2014–15 season without full playing privileges after finishing 188th in the FedEx Cup. Harrington was the second consecutive player ranked 297th in the world to win on the PGA Tour, after James Hahn won the Northern Trust Open the week before. The victory qualified Harrington for the Masters having missed out on the event in 2014 for the first time since he made his debut in 2000. This also moved him back into the world's top 100. In August 2016, Harrington represented Ireland at the 2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
, finishing in a tie for the 21st place. On 23 October 2016, Harrington won the Portugal Masters by one stroke. It was his first win on the European Tour since 2008.
On 8 January 2019, Harrington was named as the captain for the 2020 Ryder Cup. The Ryder Cup was delayed one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The European team lost 19–9.
In 2022, Harrington started playing on PGA Tour Champions. He finished second to Steve Stricker in his first senior major, The Tradition
The Tradition (known as the Regions Tradition for sponsorship reasons) is an event on the PGA Tour Champions. First staged in 1989 Senior PGA Tour, 1989, the PGA Tour recognizes the event as one of the five senior major golf championships. Unlik ...
. On 26 June 2022, he won his first senior major, the U.S. Senior Open, beating Stricker by one stroke.
In March 2023 it was announced that Harrington would be elected World Golf Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024.
Personal life
Harrington has known his wife Caroline since childhood. They were married in 1997 and have two sons: Patrick, born in 2003, and Ciarán, born in November 2007.
Harrington's eldest brother, Tadhg, is a professional golf coach who owns and teaches at th
Harrington Golf Academy
in Dublin, Ireland.
Harrington is a distant cousin of former NFL quarterback Joey Harrington and 1995 World Series of Poker champion and author Dan Harrington.
Harrington's given name "Pádraig" is the Irish Language
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
version of the name Patrick, which is in common usage in Ireland. His four older brothers have Irish names as well (Tadhg, Columb, Fintan, and Fergal).
Harrington's caddy since 2004 is Ronan Flood. Flood married Susie Gregan, the sister of Harrington's wife, in 2007.
After leaving school, Harrington mixed amateur golf with studying accounting. He passed his final exams in 1994 to gain admittance to ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is the global professional accounting body offering the Chartered Certified Accountant qualification (CCA). Founded in 1904, It is now the fourth-largest professional accounting body ...
).
Harrington has undergone laser eye surgery in a bid to improve his game.
Charity work
Harrington became a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Ol ...
, the world's largest sports organisation for people with intellectual disabilities, in May 2010. He has conducted a number of golf clinics for Special Olympics athletes and coaches.
Harrington has been a patron of the Irish charity Oesophageal Cancer Fund (OCF) since 2006, having lost his father to oesophageal cancer in 2005. He actively promotes Lollipop Day, the designated day for oesophageal cancer fundraising in Ireland celebrated every February and raises funds through various events and activities through The Pádraig Harrington Charitable Foundation, which are distributed to deserving beneficiaries throughout Ireland and the rest of the world.
Amateur wins
* 1991 Sherry Cup
* 1994 West of Ireland Amateur Championship
* 1995 Irish Amateur Open Championship, Irish Amateur Close Championship
* Leinster Boys Championship
Professional wins (41)
PGA Tour wins (6)
PGA Tour playoff record (3–1)
European Tour wins (15)
''*Note: The 2001 Volvo Masters Andalucía was shortened to 54 holes due to weather.''
1Co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour
The Asian Tour is the principal men's professional golf professional golf tours, tour in Asia except for Japan (which has its own Japan Golf Tour). It is also a full member of the International Federation of PGA Tours. Official money events on ...
European Tour playoff record (4–4)
Japan Golf Tour wins (1)
Japan Golf Tour playoff record (1–0)
Asian Tour wins (4)
1Co-sanctioned by the European Tour
Asian Tour playoff record (0–1)
Other wins (11)
Other playoff record (3–2)
PGA Tour Champions wins (9)
PGA Tour Champions playoff record (0–2)
European Senior Tour wins (1)
European Senior Tour playoff record (0–2)
Major championships
Wins (3)
1Defeated García in a four-hole playoff by 1 stroke: Harrington (3-3-4-5=15), García (5-3-4-4=16)
Results timeline
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied for place
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
Summary
*Most consecutive cuts made – 8 (1999 Open Championship – 2001 Open Championship)
*Longest streak of top-10s – 3 (2002 Masters – 2002 Open Championship)
Results in The Players Championship
CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships
''Results not in chronological order before 2015.''
1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
Senior major championships
Wins (1)
Results timeline
''Results not in chronological order''
"T" indicates a tie for a place
NT = no tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
Team appearances
Amateur
* Jacques Léglise Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1988 (winners), 1989 (winners)
* European Amateur Team Championship (representing Ireland): 1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
, 1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
, 1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
* Walker Cup
The Walker Cup is a golf trophy contested in odd-numbered years by leading male amateur golfers in two teams: United States, and Great Britain and Ireland featuring players from the United Kingdom and Ireland. The official name is the Walker Cup ...
(representing Great Britain & Ireland): 1991
It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...
, 1993
The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as:
* International Year for the World's Indigenous People
The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...
, 1995
1995 was designated as:
* United Nations Year for Tolerance
* World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War
This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
(winners)
* European Youths' Team Championship (representing Ireland): 1992,
* St Andrews Trophy (representing Great Britain and Ireland): 1992 (winners), 1994 (winners)
Professional
* Alfred Dunhill Cup
The Alfred Dunhill Cup was a team golf tournament which ran from 1985 to 2000, sponsored by Alfred Dunhill Ltd. It was for three-man teams of professional golfers, one team representing each country, and was promoted as the "World Team Championsh ...
(representing Ireland): 1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
, 1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
, 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, 1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, 2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
* World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...
(representing Ireland): 1996
1996 was designated as:
* International Year for the Eradication of Poverty
Events January
* January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
, 1997
Events January
* January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States.
* January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis.
* January 1 ...
(winners), 1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
, 1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, 2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, 2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
, 2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
, 2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
, 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, 2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
, 2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
* Ryder Cup
The Ryder Cup is a biennial men's golf competition between teams from Europe and the United States, with hosting duties alternating between venues in Europe and the United States for each edition. The cup is named after the English businessman S ...
(representing Europe): 1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, 2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
(winners), 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
(winners), 2006
2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
Events
January
* January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute.
* January 12 – A stampede during t ...
(winners), 2008
2008 was designated as:
*International Year of Languages
*International Year of Planet Earth
*International Year of the Potato
*International Year of Sanitation
The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, 2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
(winners), 2021
Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...
(non-playing captain)
** Record: 25 matches, 10.5 points
** All formats (W–L–H): 9–13–3 = 10.5 pts
*** Singles: 3–3–0 = 3 pts
*** Foursomes: 3–4–3 = 4.5 pts
*** Fourballs: 3–6–0 = 3 pts
* Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, 2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
(winners), 2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
(winners), 2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
(winners)
Awards and honours
*International:
**2006:
*** European Tour Order of Merit
**2007:
*** European Tour Golfer of the Year
***Association of Golf Writers Player of the Year
**2008:
*** PGA Player of the Year
*** PGA Tour Player of the Year
*** European Tour Golfer of the Year
***Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA) Player of the Year
***Association of Golf Writers Player of the Year
*** European Tour Shot of the Year – 5w on 71st Hole in Open Championship
**2022:
*** PGA Tour Champions Rookie of the Year
*National:
**1996 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
**1999 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
**2001 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
**2002 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award, RTÉ Sports Person of the Year
**2004 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award (shared with Darren Clarke & Paul McGinley
Paul Noel McGinley (born 16 December 1966) is an Irish professional golfer who has won four events on the European Tour. At the 2002 Ryder Cup, he famously holed a ten-foot putt on the 18th hole in his match against Jim Furyk at The Belfry which ...
)
**2005 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
**2006 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
**2007 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award, RTÉ Sports Person of the Year
**2008 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award, Irish Golf Writers Professional of the Year Award, RTÉ Sports Person of the Year
See also
* List of golfers with most European Tour wins
* List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
* List of men's major championships winning golfers
* List of people on the postage stamps of Ireland
* Golf in Ireland
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
Irish Examiner.com
– "The making of a Major champion" – 28 July 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Padraig
Irish male golfers
European Tour golfers
PGA Tour golfers
Winners of men's major golf championships
Winners of senior major golf championships
Ryder Cup competitors for Europe
Olympic golfers for Ireland
Golfers at the 2016 Summer Olympics
RTÉ Sports Person of the Year winners
People educated at Coláiste Éanna
Golfers from Dublin (city)
21st-century Irish people
1971 births
Living people