Padraig Harrington supports Tiger Woods in his bid to shatter Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles
Celebrated Irish golfer Padraig Harrington has always been a blistering supporter of Tiger Woods and has taken his side through the thick and thin of the professional golf.
A three-time major winner himself, no one knows it better than Harrington as to what it takes to fall from stardom and struggle with form woes.
Harrington was speaking about Woods' recent performance in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, where the former world number one has made his first appearance.
Woods played brilliantly throughout the weekend but fell for the mental pressure in the final round to throw away the coveted title. He finished runner-up behind Englishman Robert Rock.
Harrington said, "Over the years I'm sure he came down the last hole in many tournaments just believing that he was going to birdie it, full stop, because it's happened so many times. Over the last 18 months it hasn't happened, so that leaves a little bit of doubt the next time he's in that position. He doesn't have the fear factor and the dominance as much to do it every week”.
Woods is currently eyeing resurgence in his career after pulling in the Chevron World Challenge title last year, the closing event on PGA.
He performed well in the Australian Open and the President’s Cup and is now looking for more victories before heading into the heat of the summer.
He was finally able to bring an end to his winless streak which stretched for more than two years.
Harrington believes Woods has all the capability to take over Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18-major titles and said, "I'd be still backing him to beat Jack's record, absolutely".
Harrington, however, also believes that once Woods is able to surpass the record, he is likely to lose interest in the sport and the spirit to forge ahead to land more major titles.
The Irishman said that he had a chance to play alongside Woods in the recent events and knows well that his swing is back with full force.
He believes if Woods is down to playing his best, there is hardly anyone who can outsmart the former world number one.
Woods has now started off his PGA Tour season with the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he has returned after a lapse of ten years.
He was criticised for opting for the Abu Dhabi event on the European Tour, rather than starting off his season on the home course.
Many of the critics claimed that he has accepted an appearance fee of around $2-$3-million to fly down to an alien course.
The season is now warming up on both sides of the Atlantic as the approaching WGC Accenture Match Play Championship at the end of this month will provide another exciting event on the calendar.
Woods will be hoping to land the title to increase his chances of a possible victory at Augusta National in the following months.
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