Former Team Europe Ryder Cup captain Padraig Harrington played an audacious shot from his knees to save par during his opening round at the Houston Open on Thursday
Padraig Harrington showed why he’s a three-time major champion on Thursday by playing an incredible recovery shot at the Houston Open.
Harrington, 52, looked certain to drop at least a shot when his drive at the par-five 16th flew off to the left and landed under a bush. Many golfers wouldn’t even attempted to play a recovery shot from such a dire position, but the veteran is no ordinary player.
Harrington got down on his knees and pinged the ball out from under the bush. His shot avoided the tree nearby and rolled into a decent position on the fairway, leaving PGA Tour fans in awe. The Irishman then completed his remarkable recovery by making par.
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Fans were left in awe by Harrington’s innovation. He later explained how he played the shot on X by writing: “Ended up making par. Use a 5 wood if possible for this as you’re less likely to snag the heel and it takes the shank out of play.”
Harrington ended up shooting a even-par 70 during his opening round at the Houston Open to sit six shots behind leaders Taylor Moore and Wilson Furr in the PGA Tour event. “Should have been better,” admitted the former Ryder Cup captain on X.
Harrington is one of the most popular figures in golf, having turned professional nearly 30 years ago. He’s a four-time Ryder Cup winner as a player and won The Open Championship in 2007 and 2008, as well as the PGA Championship in 2008.
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Harrington captained Team Europe at the Ryder Cup in 2021 when they were thumped 19-9 by the Americans. Although the golf icon hasn’t won on the DP World Tour since 2016, he’s now a force in on the Champions Tour – winning the US Senior Open in 2022.
The red hot favourite to win the Houston Open is World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, who is just one shot behind the leaders on five-under-par. Scheffler is aiming to win his third tournament in as many starts after claiming victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship earlier this month – defending his title in the latter event.
“Yeah, I would say some key up-and-downs,” Scheffler told reporters after yet another good round of golf on Thursday. “I made a nice putt there at the first to kind of get the round going and made some really nice up and downs after that.”
He added: “I had a solid round. Kept the card clean. Bogey free is always nice, especially around a golf course like this. It’s nice to be able to keep the card clean, like I said.”
The world’s best golfers, including Scheffler, will have one eye on the Masters, which takes place next month. Scheffler is hoping to win his second green jacket at Augusta, while world No.2 Rory McIlroy will try to end his 10-year wait for a major title.
