Dec12 Harrington voted golfer fo the year

Padraig Harrington has been named The 2007 European Tour Golfer of the Year following an outstanding season in which the highlight was his victory in The 136th Open Championship at Carnoustie in Scotland.

The 36 year old receives the accolade for the first time in his career after earning the majority vote of a panel comprising representatives of the Association of Golf Writers (AGW), Television, Radio and The European Tour, who also seriously considered the claims of Argentina’s Angel Cabrera, winner of the 2007 US Open Championship at Oakmont Country Club, and England’s Justin Rose, Number One on The European Tour Order of Merit.

Harrington, whose success meant that European Tour Members completed an historic US Open – Open Championship summer double following Cabrera’s victory, said: “There are obviously lots of things that happened this year that made it very special, starting with the birth of my second son, Ciaran, but following not too far behind was winning The Open Championship.

“Winning The Irish Open was another big one too, and there were a couple of other wins in there, so it is really nice for it all to be recognised at the end of the season by being named The European Tour Golfer of the Year, an award I will treasure. Accolades like this are very rewarding, especially as time passes, and it is a great reminder of what a great year 2007 was.

“Undoubtedly Angel had a great year, too. He played some great golf at the US Open and his triumph there was probably one of the most spectacular wins of the year. In terms of being flamboyant he hit some great shots in that final round.

“I remember watching it and I suppose it was all summed up by him sitting in the Oakmont locker room waiting for the guys to finish the last couple of holes. I think there can be no better picture than of him sitting there so relaxed – well reasonably relaxed anyway!”

Like Harrington, it was Cabrera’s first Major Championship success, the 38 year old winning in the end by one shot from Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods, and in all he captured four titles around the world in 2007. Rose secured Number One honours on The 2007 European Tour Order of Merit with his win in the season-ending Volvo Masters, which followed his early season success in the MasterCard Masters, while others with multiple victories included South Africa’s Ernie Els, who won the HSBC World Match Play Championship for a record seventh time in addition to the South African Airways Open, and Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who won the WGC – Accenture Match Play and the Dubai Desert Classic.

George O’Grady, Chief Executive of The European Tour, said: “In fewer than 40 days in the summer of 2007 Angel and Padraig earned global recognition by completing a Major Championship double not achieved by European Tour Members since The European Tour was born in 1971. Both players are outstanding role models for The European Tour. We congratulate them both and recognise Padraig as a most deserving recipient in this the 23rd year of this prestigious Award.”

Harrington, winner of 21 events worldwide including 12 on The European Tour International Schedule, became the first golfer from Ireland in 60 years to lift the Claret Jug after his four hole play-off victory over Sergio Garcia at Carnoustie. Harrington started the last day sharing third place on three under par – six shots behind Garcia – and shot 67 to the Spaniard’s 73 to tie with a seven under par total of 277 on a final leaderboard on which all of the top five places were occupied by European Tour Members.

He recalled: “I was talking to a few people and we certainly had in mind that I would have to shoot two 67s on the weekend.  I shot 68 on the Saturday and played very solidly for that.  Going out on the Sunday I was six shots behind, but I knew second place was six under par and I had to get past that to give myself a chance.  I knew one or two of us on three under par would go out and play well that day. I think Sergio probably went out with the same thing in mind, to stay ahead of six under.  I think both of us succeeded in that goal as we finished at seven under.

“When I birdied the 11th I got the feeling from the crowd that something was happening.  I don’t look at leaderboards but when my caddie got me to lay up off the tee on the 14th I knew that meant I was right in contention, because he would have got me to hit driver if I was chasing a bit more. Then, when I eagled the 14th, that was the first time in the whole round that I really had to calm down.  When I knocked the putt in I casually raised my hand to acknowledge the crowd, but inside I was flying and it was a big effort to just calm down.

“Then, of course, I was in the water twice on the 18th. I felt really embarrassed at the time but I don’t feel so bad about it now because I can look back at all the circumstances of the shots. It was nice that I recovered afterwards and don’t have to beat up myself too much about it. It would have done me a lot of harm if I hadn’t won, but that’s not the case, and there is a positive there that next time in a similar situation I will have memories that I can play the final hole not perfectly and still win.”

Similarly Harrington required a play-off to win The Irish Open when he overcame Bradley Dredge of Wales at the first extra hole at the Adare Manor Hotel and Golf Resort in County Limerick.

Harrington said: “In my eyes The Irish Open is the fifth Major. It’s my national event and when I get there it’s incredibly hyped up and there’s loads of expectation and pressure.  So it mimics a Major for me. Having come through The Irish Open this year it did give me confidence because of the similarities in my approach to that event and my approach to Majors. 

“Overall in both of them – The Irish Open and The Open – I was doing my own thing, remaining focused on myself and very convinced within myself that I was going to win. In neither case did I doubt what was happening, I was always focused on a win and not wondering what a loss would mean.

“The course at Adare was set up tough and definitely that suits my game nowadays. I seem to do better when it is single figures under par that wins, where it’s about being disciplined and playing solid golf, whereas when I was a younger player I was definitely more erratic and tended to shoot more low scores and then a few more higher ones. So I do prefer going into the bigger occasions, the Major-type tests where it is going to be more like a marathon than a sprint.”

Ultimately Harrington, who finished Number One in The European Tour Order of Merit in 2006, claimed third place in the 2007 Order of Merit  with winnings of €2,463,742 (£1,728,250) behind Rose (€2,944,945; £2,065,801) and South Africa’s Ernie Els (€2,496,237; £1,751,045).

Harrington concluded: “It was a great year for golf and for The European Tour, ending with the announcement of The Race to Dubai and The Dubai World Championship. I’m very happy with it.  They knew they had to come up with something to challenge the PGA Tour so it does seem like the right move. They’ve picked the time of the year where they can dominate and they’re putting on the biggest event financially on any Tour. You’re going to a place that has fantastic weather, fantastic facilities and a great place to run a big event at that time of the year. Other tournaments are going to have to compete and it’s going to bring the whole standard of the Tour up.

“Now we can look forward to 2008 including The Ryder Cup. I think you’ll see the old guard getting out there and playing a few extra events to try to force themselves into the Team, but there will be some fresh new faces in there as well. 

“That’s what The Ryder Cup needs, a mixture of both. That’s why Europe has done so well in the past, because we maximise the team effort.  The only thing is I’ve got to make sure of is that I’m in there as one of the elder statesmen in the team.  There’s plenty of work still to be done to get into that Team and like any player, I’ll be anxious to get myself in early rather than late. You don’t want to be sweating about it.”

The Golfer of the Month Award is presented to a European Tour Member each month from January to November for his performance on The European Tour International Schedule and in worldwide competition.