Padraig Harrington Fancies Fourth Major Title Bid After Stellar Seniors Debut

Padraig Harrington is having a stellar first full season on the PGA Tour Champions, and says it’s sharpened up his game so much that it could yet lead to another crack at winning a regular Major against the young guns.

The Irishman successfully defended the Claret Jug to win back-to-back Open Championships in 2007 and 2008 – while also adding the 2008 US PGA Championship during a scintillating spell as one of the best golfers on the planet.

Harrington is certainly one of the toughest competitors, but his desire to continue improving led to his game dropping off a bit and not being able to add a fourth Major title.

In his first full season playing on the senior circuit, though, he’s back to challenging at the sharp end of the tournaments – he’s won the US Senior Open and could yet win the Charles Schwab Cup.

Beyond that, though, Harrington is qualified to play in three of the four Majors in 2023 and his form this year has him wondering if he can challenge the PGA Tour and DP World Tour stars for the big ones next year.

"The big move for me this year is where does this lead to?" said Harrington ahead of the penultimate play-off event in Florida.

"That's really what I look at. Because I've been in contention pretty much every week, you're learning so much about your game. You learn much more at the business end of a tournament than you do when you're in the middle of the field.

"So I see things improving, I see myself tightening up in areas and sharpening up and I'm curious as to where it leads me.”

Harrington says he could try and pursue something like Bernhard Langer’s senior career, as the German has become a prolific PGA Tour Champions winner, but he also has a feeling that he may still be able to challenge for Majors.

"Do I come out and have a career like Bernhard Langer, which would be fabulous, or does it give me a couple more years with the young guys?

"Do I feel like I could go back and win another major? Do I feel like, you know, yeah, where is it going to take me?

"So what's it all mean and what does it lead to, I don't know. I'm certainly, I'm a better player at 51 than I was at 49 and a half years of age, that's for sure."

2023 could be the perfect time for Harrington to get back in among the Major contenders, with it still being unclear if LIV Golfers will be able to compete.

Harrington could also take some confidence from Phil Mickelson's US PGA Championship victory just last year - with his 2021 success coming just before his 51st birthday.