Padraig Harrington breaks two year curse with victory on Asian tour
The World needs to know that Padraig Harrington has finally broken out of his curse. He has declared victory on the Asian Tour's Iskandar Johor Open, which was taking place at the Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club in Malaysia.
Sunday, 17th October, 2010 was a huge blast for the 39-year-old, Padraig Harrington, when he stroked a final round of three-under -69 to claim a lead of three strokes over Noh Seung-Yul. The Irish broke into tears when he was handed over the winner’s
cheque of US$ 1.25 million along with the trophy.
That was one thing, which was lacking in last two years of Harington’s career. He had not seen a crystal trophy since the 2008, PGA championship.
Padraig Harrington stepped into the final round with a lead of five strokes. However, after a few holes, his lead was reduced to three, but that did not stop the champ from striking more birdies. The Irishman smashed six birdies against three bogeys in the
final moments. He wrapped his four day session with an aggregate of 20-under-par.
Saturday’s round portrayed moderate scores for the winner. He wrapped it with a 68, which gave him an edge of five strokes. Harrington feared that his fluctuating performance might snatch the much desired victory from him. However, that did not happen. Three
magical eagles in the first two rounds did their job and took the player into the top most spot of the leader board.
He was chased by the Asian merit of order leader, Noh Seung-Yul. The 19-year-old gave a tough battle to the veteran. He picked up eight birdies on his way to surge into second place. Next on the list was Lin Wen-tang with a score of 17-under-par.
Coming back to the winner, Harrington was on cloud nine when he saw the final results on the leader board. He expressed his feelings with a rush of tears and smile on his face. Speaking to the press he said, "It's always so nice to win, but it’s even nicer
when there's been a bit of a drought. Winning is a habit so it's nice to come out here and win and do it in style”.
The three-time major winner envied the weather conditions prevailing on the final day. He said that the weather was perfect unlike the last two days when the strong wind blew on the Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club making it difficult to reach the pin.
He further commented on the course layout and added that the course was ideal for low scoring thereby he and other golfers knew how to cash in on the opportunity.
The Ryder Cup hero enjoyed his resilient form and pushed his competitors into dark spots. There was a moment when Noh and Kiradech surged up into lead for a few minutes after firing birdies on the 11th hole, but the Irish did not let them enjoy that. He
responded with a birdie putt on the 13th, followed by another on the 14th hole.
According to media reports, Harrington was experiencing serious trouble with his fitness. He stepped into the tournament with a neck injury, which he received in the pro-am session on Wednesday. However, he did not pull out of the tournament, although he
was near to this decision before the starting of the third round.
Good for him that he did not take the withdrawal or else he would have missed the chance to break through the drought.
This is it for the new that says that Padraig Harrington has won the Asian Tour Iskandar Johor Open, which was staged at the Horizon Hills Golf and Country Club in Malaysia. After a long tenure of two years, the three time major winner finally declared a
glorified victory and that two without a playoff. He was followed by Noh Seung-Yul and Lin Wen-tang on the second and third position respectively.
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