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Fearing the worst brings out the best in Harrington

category: Golf

22.07.2008 05:26

SOUTHPORT, England -- In the offseason, Padraig Harrington routinely takes a nice break, spending time in Dublin with his family, enjoying the holiday and a few libations, letting the clubs build up a nice layer of oxidation.

Then the curious part comes.

Will Padraig still have 'it' by then? He's afraid he won't. (Getty Images)

Marginally controlled panic.

"Fear is a big part of me," he said.

A world-class player for a decade at least, Harrington wipes the cobwebs off his sticks and begins the annual ritual of proving, mostly to himself, that what happened the year before was no fluke, dream sequence or crazy happenstance.

The increasingly popular Irishman won the British Open for the second consecutive year over the weekend and, on the morning after, detailed that the creature comforts and riches associated with fame and adulation are great, but he's motivated as much by a decidedly different issue.

Every year he knocks away the rust and begins the process to determine, as his wife Caroline put it moments after he'd reclaimed the title, "whether he's lost it or still got it."

She didn't mean the claret jug.

Overnight, Harrington jumped 11 spots to No. 3, his highest position ever in the world rankings. Monday morning at Royal Birkdale, he admitted to being motivated by the most potentially disastrous emotions in the sports subconscious.

That is, a dollop of absolute fear, with a sprinkle of paranoia and a dash of insecurity. Who knew it was a recipe for success? Ladies and gentlemen, meet the two-time defending Champion Golfer of the Year, a study in admittedly backward mental gymnastics.

Over the years, he and sports psychologist-author Dr. Bob Rotella have tried to come up with a more productive approach, but Harrington finally decided to channel what's clearly working.

"Fear can be very important," he said Monday. "I perform my best under fear, but it is still a very negative emotion. I have talked to Bob Rotella about trying to find a way, of developing something else that is a bit more carefree. But hey, it's not in my makeup."

Good morning fear, like an old friend come to see me again.

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