• European Tour

Harrington relieved to share burden with Clarke

ESPN staff
July 27, 2011
Padraig Harrington was second at the Irish Open last year © Getty Images
Enlarge

Irish Open betting tips: Padraig to spoil Clarke's celebrations

Padraig Harrington feels less pressure to succeed at the Irish Open following the major triumphs of Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke.

Harrington, a three-time major winner, will not be in the spotlight as much as usual at Killarney this week, with focus set to fall on Open champion Darren Clarke, who is appearing for the first time since his emotional triumph at Royal St George's earlier this month.

And Harrington, who has not won a European or PGA Tour event since the US PGA Championship in August 2008, reckons he has a fine chance of sneaking under the radar and ending his barren spell.

"I'm not that stressed as I would be coming into my National Open in other years," he said, when asked if the attention was on Ireland's other major winners this year. "I'm probably bringing some other stress in with me but not the stress of having to win this.

"I'd just like to win a tournament. It's been eight months or so (since winning the Iskandar Johor Open). It would be nice to have some good performances. That would be my own personal stress. Besides that, there are not too many external factors worrying me at the moment."

McIlroy will play with defending champion Ross Fisher in a star grouping at the event, teeing off at 7.50am local time on Thursday, while Clarke begins at 12.15.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices