Paddy out of gas

A beleaguered Padraig Harrington revealed he will extend his winter break after admitting to being ‘completely overgolfed’ at Port Royal yesterday.

The Irish three-time Major winner is back in Bermuda as the PGA Grand Slam of Golf defending champion — but stumbled to a three-over 74.

His brutally honest assessment of the day was that he played ‘stale’ golf, while admitting he has not only played too much but also over-practiced.

He plans to extend his break to at least eight weeks — the longest since he won The Open and the USPGA in the same year — in a bid to refresh his mind and reverse his slump.

After his opening round of 74 in Southampton, Harrington laid bare his frustrations.

“You know, I played like stale golf, tired golf. I just kind of look at it and you know, just played probably too many events and I feel it's time for a break.

“I know I have a couple more events to go, but you know, the way I played out there, for sure, I didn't make one birdie from play.

“The three birdies I made were all on the par fives, tap-ins.  I'm not holing any putts, even though I didn't hit a bad putt all day.  

“And any time I hit an average shot or a bad shot, I end up making a bogey or more from it.

“So it was really a question of that’s a sign, when you're not making the most out of your round, that’s a sign that you’re just a little bit stale and not sharp.  That was very much the case on Tuesday.  

“So that leaves me in a nice position to enjoy Wednesday!”

He added: “I should have the experience or wherewithal to realize to stick in there.  My position would be so much better if I was back there at level par.  You know, I wouldn’t be too far away from the lead.

“So it was a little bit disappointing to throw away as I did the two shots on 16, things like that.  I look at my whole round and I think, well, as bad as it was and as bad as things went, I still should have been three or four shots better and that wouldn’t be too far out of the competition.

“Obviously Justin is four under and it means somebody is going to have to play well to catch him.  I need a minor miracle to catch him.”

Harrington admits to overthinking the game but while his form is a concern, he remained a chipper presence at Port Royal, asking leader Justin Rose whether he was given the wicker flag at 18 from MUS Open venue Merion, and promising to ‘enjoy’ last  night now his chances of victory are slim.

But he knows a major rethink will be needed this winter.

He said: “I’ve been thinking about it, trying to figure it out. It’s just pure staleness in the game. Just overplayed.  

“I’ve now, already in my head, pulled out of another two events during the winter to give me a longer winter break. It will be probably the longest winter break I’ve taken probably since I won my Majors.  I used to take eight weeks.  

“That was cut down to six weeks for the last number of years. 

“So I’m definitely going to bring it back up to eight weeks and even examine it further to see if I can maybe take another one or two tournaments out of it, as well, and take close to a two and a half month break.  It would be torture sitting at home and watching other people out there playing.

But it would be good for my game. 

“It’s not great for me getting into the Masters and it’s not great for me making The Ryder Cup, but for my own well being, it would do me a lot of good to have a good, sizeable rest period.”