Padraig Harrington Reveals Why He Was Scared of Young Rory More Than Tiger Woods

Even though there is no age limitation for a pro golfer to compete on Tour, after a certain age, we see players struggling with their performance, which is understandable. And this is when new competitors rise who are younger and perform better. Even Tiger Woods was struggling to keep up with the youngsters. However, for Tiger, it was more about the injuries than age. 

Meanwhile, Padraig Harrington, who is currently competing in the Champions Tour, knows this thing well. Recently, he revealed an interesting thing. 

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Padraig Harrington was not scared of Tiger Woods?

Padraig Harrington recently revealed, “Certainly when Rory came out, you stand there and just, How can you beat this guy?” Harrington said. “That puts you then under stress. And, you know, the greatest place you can be is going on the golf course thinking that your stuff is good enough and you’re not worried about everybody else.”

Meanwhile, Harrington isn’t wrong here as when Rory McIlroy was bursting onto the scene, he looked unstoppable, especially at the 2011 U.S. Open. Furthermore, Harrington was playing his best golf at the same time, and hence he started to question his own abilities. 

He also said that if he plays a course with a Tour pro and club pro, he will score better while playing with the club pro. Moreover, during 2011, he had just peaked and was playing the best golf of his life. And according to him, he thought could compete with Tiger Woods or at least get nearer to his game.

Harrington had a strategy to deal with Woods

However, he clarified that he had a strategy with Tiger that seemed to work. But to see a 21-year-old smash darts on a longer U.S. Open course was intimidating. “The game jumped a lot with Rory, and it was hard to follow,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s as simple as that.”

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Meanwhile, the good news for Harrington is that he has just turned 50 and has immediately become one of the favorites to win the event this week. Furthermore, he will try to follow in the footsteps of Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk to secure a win during his Champions Tour debut.