Travelling Week for Harrington

Padraig Harrington returns to action this week after finishing fourth at the US Open last weekend – and a birdie at the last would have put him in a play-off with eventual winner Webb Simpson.

Both are now at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut, where for the first two rounds Simpson joins Keegan Bradley and Bubba Watson, current holders of the USPGA and Masters titles.

Harrington, meanwhile, is with fellow Open champions Louis Oosthuizen and Justin Leonard.

“It was a case of so near, but yet so far,” said the 40-year-old Dubliner. “It was my best finish of the year so far, but I am coming away from San Francisco knowing that I could so easily have got to the winning score.”

He four-putted twice and three-putted once on the opening day, then on the final hole pulled his approach “a fraction” and found a bad lie in the bunker. Harrington thought he needed a birdie and after failing to get up and down was relieved to be proved right.

“I must admit that I was very happy to see Webb finish on one over par. Had two-over played off I would have been devastated.”

He had gone into the week 94th in the world and came out of it 75th. That is still a long way from where he wants to be, but it makes him look forward to the British Open at Royal Lytham in under a month’s time even more.

“Looking back on the week it only hammered home to me that the most important thing at a major is your short game. It all comes down to wedges, chipping, putting and bunker play.”

Despite having played five of the last six weeks, Harrington also has the Irish and Scottish Opens before the next major. That will make it nine tournaments in 11 weeks. He hopes it will be a run that also brings him back into the Ryder Cup reckoning. One of Colin Montgomerie’s three picks two years ago he is down at 23rd on the table and captain Jose Maria Olazabal has gone for only two wild cards.

As well as moving to a career-high fifth in the world, Simpson leapt from 25th to third on the American cup standings behind Jason Dufner and Watson.

He and Watson were partners – and rookies – at the Presidents Cup last November and, sent out first each time by captain Fred Couples, won three of their four games together.

England’s Ian Poulter, 13th in the European race, looks to hit back from his 41st place in San Francisco. “Two days at home after US Open feels like a week off,” he said on Twitter before flying to Hartford.

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Smyth Defends Van Lanschot Title

Des Smyth returns to the scene of one of his finest rounds when he attempts to defend a European Senior Tour title for the first time at this week’s Van Lanschot Senior Open in The Netherlands.

Smyth fired a magnificent closing round of 65 to win by two strokes at Royal Haagsche Golf & Country Club in The Hague 12 months ago, having started the day four shots behind Australian Peter Fowler.

It was Smyth’s fourth Senior Tour title and he nearly made it five later in the season when he lost to Spaniard Juan Quiros in the Cannes Mougins Masters.

With one top ten finish already this season in the Benahavis Senior Masters, Smyth believes his game is in good shape for a successful defence at a course where he also finished in the top five in 2010.

“I’m really looking forward to returning to The Netherlands,” said the 59 year old. “I went into the last event at Slaley Hall feeling like I was playing well but with all the weather conditions I seemed to get worse each day.

“Hopefully I can pick it up and play well when defending my title and then during the nice run of events afterwards.

“It was a special final round last year and it was nice to come from a few behind. It was a spectacular run – seven under par in the final round is pretty impressive. I think it is the lowest round I have shot to win a tournament. I have happy memories and I played well there the year before, so it is a course I like.

“It has a links feel to it and I like playing links golf. I’m happy with the way I’m playing too so I’m really looking forward to it. At home I’ve defended the Irish National Championship but I’ve never successfully defend one on Tour so it would be a nice box to tick.”

Smyth succeeded George Ryall as champion following the Englishman’s maiden Senior Tour title in 2010. Ryall became the first non-exempt player to win on the Senior Tour since 2007 when he held off Scotland’s Andrew Oldcorn by one shot.

Oldcorn also has a fine record at Royal Haagsche Golf & Country Club having finished tied tenth last year, and he will have been boosted by a strong defence of the ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship two weeks ago, finishing joint-runner up at De Vere Slaley Hall.

Paul Wesselingh, who denied Oldcorn to claim his maiden Senior Tour title, is in the field, along with fellow Englishman Gary Wolstenholme, who has won twice on the Senior Tour so far this season.

They are joined by former Ryder Cup Captains Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam, and the top two on the 2011 Order of Merit, Fowler and Barry Lane.

Maguire in Close Defeat of Curtis Partner

Leona Maguire of Slieve Russell defeated Royal Portrush’s Stephanie Meadow by two holes to win her second Irish Women’s Close Amateur Championship at County Louth on Tiuesday.

The two Curtis Cup stars met in the decider having notched semi-final victories over Lucy Simpson (Massereene) and Carla Reynolds (Seapoint) respectively earlier in the day.

Maguire, winner of the title back in 2008, raced to a three-hole lead after starting par, birdie, birdie, birdie. Meadows reacted strongly with a birdie of her own at the short fifth and impressively squared the match with further birdies on six and nine.

Turning for home and with the match finely balanced, Maguire restored her advantage at the long 11th, holing from 25 feet for another birdie. The next two holes were halved in regulation pars and then came that match-turning-moment at the 14th.

In heavy rough off the tee and again with her approach, Maguire looked to lose her advantage as Meadows’ approach finished 15 feet above the hole. But Maguire brilliantly pitched to three feet, and after Meadows missed, sank the putt for an unlikely half.

Maguire went on to win the short 15th in regulation and although Meadows won the next in par, she closed out the tie at the last after her opponent lost her ball in heavy rough off the tee.

Harrington Claims Share of Fourth

Padraig Harrington looked at his second shot on the 18th fairway and figured he needed a birdie to have any shot of winning the U.S. Open. After taking aim at a tough pin the Dubliner found the bunker on the left side, ending his hopes of winning his fourth major.

"I was trying hard not to hit it right, and I succeeded very well, actually," Harrington said, laughing slightly at his gallows humour.

Thanks to a three-hole stretch before the turn in which he posted consecutive birdies, Harrington made a strong bid for his first U.S. open title. 

He shot a 2-under 68 that also included a chip-in at 13 for birdie. It was at that point that he started looking at leaderboards.

But he failed to birdie the par-5 16th and his bogey on the final hole left him at 3 over for the tournament.

In looking back at his week, Harrington was in an uphill climb the last three rounds after shooting a 4-over 74 on Thursday that included two four-putts and a three-putt. He knows where this tournament was lost for him.

"There’s four shots easily the first day," he said. "I had a bad day on the greens the first day, not a great day on day three.

"I look back, it wasn’t my ability to play golf this week that was costing me; it’s a couple of decisions here and there. So it’s nice to think you have the ability to win it. But maybe you just have to make the right decisions at the right time."