Looks like the disqualification really got to Padraig Harrington
The Irish professional golfer, Padraig Harrington, got off to a slow start at the Volvo Golf Champions taking place in Bahrain.
Harrington, who got disqualified from last week’s HSBC Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, is tied for the 32nd position after the second round. The player posted a 2 under par in the opening round and a 3 under par in the second round.
Going into the third round, the Dubliner is overall at 5 under and is tied with 12 other players.
“When I was marking my ball on the greens I thought a couple of times about what happened last week in Abu Dhabi”, the 39-year-old admitted. “But the biggest distraction out there was being able to ground my club in a bunker. It completely upset my routine
for bunker shots. You don't know what to do”.
The mishap that occurred with the player last week won’t be very easy to forget. Harrington was disqualified because of incorrect marking on the scorecard. A TV viewer contacted the European Tour saying that Padraig had moved the ball while picking up his
marker.
Had this been noticed right then and there, the player would have only suffered a two stroke penalty. Since Padraig himself recorded an incorrect score, after reviewing the TV footage, the tour officials hence disqualified the Irishman.
Padraig was doing really well after the first round, but he did accept his mistake and he handled the situation well. Comparing his first round in Abu Dhabi to the opening round in Bahrain, it is evident that the disqualification did get to him.
No matter what, having a false start to the year would affect your enthusiasm and confidence. Even though Harrington said that he has forgotten the mishap, his discomfort on the course in Bahrain showed he hadn’t. Padraig was being extra careful as to how
he marked and replaced his ball during the Volvo Golf Champions.
Andy McFee, who is the chief referee, specifically stated before the tournament that there are no bunkers on the course and there are only waste areas. The players have to be really careful not to ground the club or take full-blown practice swings in the
sand. Using accurate judging skills, the golfers should be sure not be fooled since some of the traps look similar to bunkers.
Hopefully, Harrington will be more careful and improve his game for the third round of Volvo Golf Champions.
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