After several months struggling to play his best golf, Padraig Harrington finds himself one shot off the lead at the Abu Dhabi Championship after firing an impressive seven-under-par in the opening round.
The Irishman is without a European Tour victory since the 2008 USPGA, but you wouldn’t have known it with the way he performed in this fantastic round of golf.
He did not drop a single shot and sank five birdies, with an exquisite chip in on the 8th for eagle the highlight. It was certainly the Harrington of old and he will now hope to continue this form into the rest of this tournament and beyond.
Focusing purely on this competition for now though, Harrington sits in 2nd place after the first round, one shot behind South African Charl Schwartzl.
Speaking about the elements that assisted his impressive round, Harrington commented that improvements in his putting played its part.
He said: “One thing showed up in the States last year. I was about 156th in every putting category, so something needed to be done.”
Elsewhere on the leader board, Lee Westwood sits five shots off the lead after a round of 69, still in with a chance of victory according to sports betting pundits.
Afterwards, the No.1 golfer in the world said that this has always been a course he ‘battles with’ and that he was pleased with his overall performance.
A surge up the leader board is certainly a possibility over the next couple of days, but for now the attention is on his European Ryder Cup team-mate Harrington who will be determined to make sure his improved performance isn’t a flash in the pan after a below par time by his high standards.
Filed under: Golf Tagged: | Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, Ryder Cup
