Padraig Harrington has the “stupidest excuse ever” to double up on Saturday 16.
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Padraig Harrington he’s been on a roll lately, but that role was almost derailed by a trip to the bathroom on Saturday.
Harrington won four times in his first full PGA Tour Champions season in 2022 and impressed last week promotion to the PGA Championship and shooting 69 in the final round. That momentum carried over to this week’s PGA Senior Championship in the new Fields Ranch East at PGA Friscowhere he leads by one stroke over 54 holes.
Looking at his scorecards this week, it’s not hard to see why he’s dominating. Harrington has been pretty much flawless this week and hasn’t done a bogeyman yet.
But we said almost.
Harrington’s only fault so far this week came on Saturday on the 16th hole when he hit a double bogey that could have given him his share of a 54-hole lead. With only a wedge of sand in his hands, he threw his approach shot at the threat and made two attempts to get out.
Luckily for the 51-year-old, he birdie on the 18th hole to keep his solo lead intact with 18 to play.
After the round, however, in a textbook TMI case, Harrington gave “the dumbest excuse ever” without prompting why he lost his focus for 457 yards par-4.
“16 came out of nowhere,” he said after the round. “So I basically went to the restroom. Doors were closed. It took me a few minutes to realize there was no one there, a few more, a few more before I opened the door. I had, like on the Champions Tour, the longest pee ever. And then I ran down the fairway and hit.
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“The second hit was kind of harmless because the pin was so tight I was only playing 15 feet to the left of it and honestly yeah I just wasn’t… Sometimes I do, I just wasn’t focused, I wasn’t interested in it and I hit a bad one gambling shot.
“Disappointed that I overreacted – you know, I tried to correct it, so I’m disappointed that my first lie went under it. The second was a bad lie, so I’m throwing it out.
“But yeah, so when you’re over 50, sometimes it takes a long time to pee,” he continued. “And that was, yes, that’s my excuse. I assume it must be original.
The original is probably an understatement. Let’s imagine how it all worked out on its own, but Harrington’s birdie on the 54th hole put him back one over Steve Striker, who is looking for a second senior major after last summer’s US Senior Open. Stewart Cink is the only other player with double figures below par. He’s three behind Harrington, he’s 13 years under.
“Golf is a crazy game. It just is, said Harrington. “Some days you get, you know, you hit the wrong shot, you take a break and you birdie. Other days you play nice and solid and steady and then it just takes you. Yes, I would be delighted to show up tomorrow and play like I played today.
