Padraig Harrington knows how to bounce back.
Much has been made of Harrington's ability to close out major championships in his prime. And rightly so – the manner in which he clinched two Opens and a PGA in the space of 13 months between July 2007 and August 2008 catapulted him into the pantheon of Irish sporting legends.
However, what many don't realise is that, for so long, Harrington was the European Tour's perennial runner-up. The Dubliner registered nine second-place finishes between his first and second tour wins in 1996 and 2000.
2001 saw seven runner-up finishes. One of Harrington's greatest accomplishments has to be coming back from those close calls time and time again; from turning seconds into firsts.
Once he discovered the winning formula, things turned out pretty well for him.
Of course, with Harrington set to turn 47 on August 31, the six-time Ryder Cup player is in the twilight of his career (although you can be damn sure he'd never admit that).
Confirmation of his fading relevance came last week when he failed to secure his PGA Tour card for next season. Coming in at 220 in the standings, Harrington was some 95 places off the cut-off point.
https://twitter.com/EuropeanTour/status/1033428802699841537
Typically, though, he hasn't let that faze him.
In his very next event – the Czech Masters – Harrington has given himself a superb chance of winning his first event in two years (the Portugal Masters in 2016).
Harrington rolled back the years during Saturday's third round, firing seven birdies in a flawless 65 to join Italy's Andrea Pavan at the top of the leaderboard on -17.
This year's Ryder Cup vice-captain is right in the mix. Strangely, however, Harrington didn't seem all that positive about Sunday's shootout for the title.
https://twitter.com/EuropeanTour/status/1033346638406795264
"I feel like it was a day too early," Harrington said. "It took a lot out of me, a lot of focus and I holed the putts that you'd like to be holing on a Sunday."
Here's hoping he still has enough left in the tank to get over the line. It would be great to see Harrington back in the winners' circle.
https://twitter.com/EuropeanTour/status/1033640191645364224
