Ireland and Golf: What the future holds (Part 2)
Critics and fans worldwide have been trying to analyze why Padraig Harrington has experienced a slump in his game and so far, a number of theories have emerged. The most common story doing the rounds these days is that Harrington
has simply lost the rhythm of his swing. This comes as a result of what can only be termed a very “desperate” attempt at finding more length off the tee; he has also entirely lost control of his golf ball.
People who support this theory give examples of the number of fairways he has missed and how few greens he has hit. However, 2008, the year of his most stellar performances, saw him hit the ball further and find even fewer greens.
Despite this, the player went on to make history with his back-to-back titles wins at the Majors.
As far as we could tell Harrington’s greatest problem at the 2010 Majors was his inability to translate his superior form into actual performance at the golf course. Perhaps the most cringe worthy example of this was his double-bogey
from the middle of the first fairway with a wedge in his hand, in the Open at St Andrews.
Despite claims that this was a failure of technique and not physique due to the player having recently lost weight, which required him to alter his swing, we believe the problem is his knack to over analyze the simplest of shots.
As the new season approaches, Harrington is at his fittest and has even more experience and wisdom about what it takes to be a Major title winner. Though fans and critics alike have started writing off the player already, we would
not put it past the player to pull a fast one on everyone and emerge victorious from the battlefield, which is competitive golf. Harrington has performed his best when people have had the least faith in him and he might just replicate the results come 2011.
Rory McIlroy, the young blazing gun of Ireland, who ended the last season with very neat third place finishes at both the US PGA and The Open Championship, is another player to watch this coming season.
The player experienced a very short game at the Chevron Challenge, as he had to battle it out with the legendary Tiger Woods, and was beaten out of the game by the legend. However, if there is one thing that he proved with his
performances after this loss, it was that his resolve was unwavering.
We saw one of his finest moments at the famous weekend that was the Quail Hollow. Once the aggressive putts started coming, there was no stopping the young Irishman.
At Augusta this year, the golfer had a tough time. All the larger than life expectations and his sudden back trouble contributed to his downfall. Even though the year has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride for McIlroy, there
is no denying the fact that Rory McIlroy and The US Masters are a match made in heaven and we cannot wait to see him put on his game face next season. He will certainly be a strong contender in 2011.
Certainly, the next season will see Tiger Woods getting back his game. We have already started getting glimpses of him trying to put back together the pieces of his golfing career, but 2011 will see him facing off with Irish golf’s
blessed trinity. Harrington, McIlroy and McDowell are all set to give “the tiger” a good run for his money.
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