The rules of golf are a standard set of regulations and procedures by which the sport of golf should be played. They are jointly written and administered by the R&A (spun off from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews) the governing body of golf worldwide except in the United States and Mexico, which are the responsibility of the United States Golf Association (USGA). The rule book, entitled "Rules of Golf", is published on a regular basis and also includes rules governing amateur status.

A central principle, although not one of the numbered rules, is found in the R&A rule book's inside front cover:^[1]

Play the ball as it lies, play the course as you find it, and if you cannot do either, do what is fair. But to do what is fair, you need to know the Rules of Golf.

In addition to the rules golf adheres to a code of conduct, known as etiquette, which generally means playing the game with due respect for the golf course and other players. Etiquette is often seen as being as important to the sport as the rules themselves.^[2]

History[link]

Before the rules of golf were standardised golf clubs commonly had their own set of rules, which while broadly the same had subtle differences, such as allowing for the removal of loose impediments, e.g. leaves and small stones. In the late 19th century, most clubs began to align themselves with either the Society of St. Andrews Golfers, later the R&A, or the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith, later the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.

The earliest surviving written rules of golf were produced by the Gentlemen Golfers of Leith on 7 March 1744, for a tournament played on 2 April. They were entitled "Articles and Laws in Playing at Golf" and consisted of 13 rules.^[3][4]

1. You must Tee your Ball within a Club's length of the Hole.
2. Your Tee must be upon the Ground.
3. You are not to change the Ball which you Strike off the Tee.
4. You are not to remove Stones, Bones or any Break Club, for the sake of playing your Ball, Except upon the fair Green within a Club's length of your Ball.
5. If your Ball comes among water, or any watery filth, you are at liberty to take out your Ball & bringing it behind the hazard and Teeing it, you may play it with any Club and allow your Adversary a Stroke for so getting out your Ball.
6. If your Balls be found any where touching one another, You are to lift the first Ball, till you play the last.
7. At Holing, you are to play your Ball honestly for the Hole, and not to play upon your Adversary’s Ball, not lying in your way to.
8. If you should lose your Ball, by its being taken up, or any other way, you are to go back to the Spot, where you struck last, & drop another Ball, And allow your adversary a Stroke for the misfortune.
9. No man at Holing his Ball, is to be allowed, to mark his way to the Hole with his Club, or anything else.
10. If a Ball be stopp’d by any Person, Horse, Dog or anything else, The Ball so stop’d must be play’d where it lies.
11. If you draw your Club in Order to Strike, & proceed so far in the Stroke as to be bringing down your Club; If then, your Club shall break, in any way, it is to be Accounted a Stroke.
12. He whose Ball lies farthest from the Hole is obliged to play first.
13. Neither Trench, Ditch or Dyke, made for the preservation of the Links, nor the Scholar's Holes, or the Soldier's Lines, Shall be accounted a Hazard; But the Ball is to be taken out and play’d with any Iron Club.

Rules of Golf (book)[link]

The Rules of Golf and the Rules of Amateur Status is published every two years by the governing bodies of golf (R&A/USGA) to define how the game is to be played. The Rules have been published jointly in this manner since 1952, although the code was not completely uniform until 2000 (with mostly minor revisions to Appendix I). The Rules Committee of The R&A, which was spun off from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews in 2004, has responsibility for upkeep and application of the rules worldwide except in the United States and Mexico, which are the responsibility of the United States Golf Association (USGA).

The term "Rules" can be said to include the following:

• Decisions on the Rules of Golf, a book published every two years by the USGA and R&A to clarify questions raised by the Rules.
• Local rules set by the Committee of a golf club, for example to denote the method used to define the boundaries of the course, ball drops, environmentally sensitive areas (ESAs), etc.
• Rules of golf etiquette, covered by the main book, define the proper behaviour of those playing the game.
• Rules often adopted in competitions, for example the prohibition on using automotive transportation during a round and Rules related to Temporary Immovable Obstructions (TIOs).
• Rules governing the size, shape and performance of golf equipment (clubs and balls) as defined by the R&A/USGA (Appendices I and II).
• Rules governing golfers with disabilities who play in accordance with A Modification of the Rules of Golf for Golfers with Disabilities as published by the R&A and USGA.

Note that while the USGA defines its own handicapping and course rating system, the R&A defers this responsibility to the appropriate national governing bodies.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews is a private golf club run for the benefit of its members. As such, since 2004 it has passed responsibility of publishing the rules to a private company, R&A Rules Ltd, operating under the stewardship of the golf club.

In 2004, the University of Chicago Press published a plain-language translation of this book. It was entitled The Rules of Golf in Plain English, by the lexicographer Bryan A. Garner and USGA rules official Jeffrey S. Kuhn. The purpose was to make the rules more accessible than the official version, which is pervasively legalistic and opaque.^{[citation needed]}

Notable rule changes[link]

The biggest change that came with the 2008–2011 edition was a new rule about clubheads not having too much 'spring' effect. This has led to the publishing of lists of conforming and non-conforming drivers.^[5][6]

In 2010 a new rule governing grooves came into force for professional and high level amateur competition. The change was made in order to decrease the amount of back spin that players were able to produce, particularly from the rough. However, due to a previous legal settlement with Ping following an earlier rule change in the early 1990s, their Eye 2 irons, which were otherwise non-conforming, were deemed legal. This led to a controversy in the early stages of the 2010 PGA Tour season when Phil Mickelson used these irons.^[7]

The 2012–2015 edition was published October 24, 2011. Nine Rules were changed, the most significant being Ball Moving After Address (Rule 18-2b). Rory McIlroy was penalized by this Rule in the final round of the 2011 Open Championship.^[8]

References[link]

External links[link]

• 2008-2011 Rules of Golf (free download)
• The Rules of Golf online at the USGA's official site
• Royal and Ancient Golf Club website
• United States Golf Association website

Pádraig Harrington
Harrington at the Open Championship in 2007
Personal information
Full name	Pádraig P. Harrington
Nickname	Páidí, Paddy
Born	(1971-08-31) 31 August 1971 (age 40) Dublin, Ireland
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	83 kg (180 lb)
Nationality	Ireland
Residence	Dublin, Ireland
Career
Turned professional	1995
Current tour(s)	European Tour (joined 1996) PGA Tour (joined 2005)
Professional wins	26
Number of wins by tour
PGA Tour	5
European Tour	14 (tied 15th all time)
Japan Golf Tour	1
Asian Tour	3
Best results in Major Championships (Wins: 3)
Masters Tournament	T5: 2002, 2008
U.S. Open	5th/T5: 2000, 2006
The Open Championship	Won: 2007, 2008
PGA Championship	Won: 2008
Achievements and awards
European Tour Order of Merit winner	2006
European Tour Player of the Year	2007, 2008
PGA Player of the Year	2008
PGA Tour Player of the Year	2008
(For a full list of awards, see here)

Pádraig P. Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He has won three major championships: The Open Championship in 2007 and 2008 and the PGA Championship, also in 2008.

Background[link]

Harrington was born in Ballyroan, Dublin, Ireland, the youngest of five sons of Patrick and Breda Harrington. His father, "Paddy" (1933–2005), a Garda (Irish police officer) who played Gaelic football for Cork in the 1950s, was also a boxer and hurler, and played to a five handicap in golf.^[1]

The Ballyroan Parish is located in Rathfarnham, a middle class area in Dublin's Southside and the birth place of two other touring professional golfers – Paul McGinley and Peter Lawrie. Harrington attended local secondary school Coláiste Éanna at the same time, but not in the same year/class, as McGinley, giving it the unique distinction of having produced two Ryder Cup golfers. Coached by Joseph McGinley, a golf enthusiast in the school, and Mark Hynes, local professional and first caddie, Harrington's interest and passion for the game grew, as the pair recorded their first victory together, in Stackstown G.C.

Career[link]

European Tour[link]

After a successful amateur career, including winning the Walker Cup with the Great Britain & Ireland team in 1995, Harrington turned professional later that year, joining the European Tour in 1996. Harrington came to professional golf at a relatively late age, having studied accountancy at university; he worked in that profession for a number of years while playing high-standard amateur golf. He was unsure whether to turn professional, initially doubting his skills.

His first victory came quickly, in the 1996 Peugeot Spanish Open. But for the next few years, the most remarkable thing about his career was the number of times he finished second in European Tour events without ever bettering that position, including four second places in five events in late 1999. However, in 2000 he discovered a winning touch, and he had at least one win on the European Tour each year from then up to 2004. He has finished in the top ten on the European Tour's Order of Merit seven times, including second places in 2001 and 2002 and third places in 2003 and 2004 and eventually won the Order of Merit in 2006. Harrington won the European Tour Golfer of the Year award in 2007 and 2008.

Harrington's 2006 European Order of Merit win came after a titanic battle with Paul Casey and David Howell, which was won on the last hole of the last event. Sergio García bogeyed the 72nd hole in the season ending Volvo Masters to give Harrington a share of second place which earned him enough money to leapfrog Paul Casey to 1st place on the Order of Merit.^[2]

From around 2000, Harrington appeared with increasing frequency in the U.S. at the majors and World Golf Championships events, and as a sponsor's invitee. He won his first professional event in the U.S. at the Target World Challenge, a non-PGA Tour event hosted by Tiger Woods in 2002. In both 2003 and 2004 he was the runner up in the Players Championship, and in the latter year he won enough money on the PGA Tour as a non-member to earn an invitation to the end of season Tour Championship.

PGA Tour[link]

He took membership of the PGA Tour in 2005 and in March he won his first PGA Tour official money event at the Honda Classic, where he beat Vijay Singh and Joe Ogilvie in a sudden-death playoff. In late June, Harrington snatched the Barclays Classic from Jim Furyk with a spectacular 65-foot (20 m) eagle putt on the final hole for his second PGA Tour win. Two weeks later his father died from esophageal cancer on 11 July, the Monday night preceding the 2005 Open Championship, forcing Harrington's withdrawal.

Harrington has spent a considerable amount of time both in the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings (over 300 weeks between 2001 and 2010^[3][4]) and achieved his best ranking of third following his second Open Championship victory. He has also played for Europe in six Ryder Cups; losing in 1999 and 2008, but winning in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2010. He has also won the par-3 contest at Augusta National, held the day before The Masters, in 2003 (tie), 2004 and 2012 (tie).

Major championship breakthrough[link]

At the 2007 Open Championship, Harrington defeated Sergio García in a four-hole playoff at Carnoustie Golf Links, becoming the first Irishman to win The Open Championship in 60 years, and the first ever from the Republic of Ireland. Both players went into the playoff having shot a 7-under 277 for the championship. Harrington subsequently won by one stroke in the playoff.

A year later at the 2008 Open Championship, it was unclear if he would get a chance to defend his Open title at Royal Birkdale as eight days prior to the event he injured his wrist. But Harrington successfully defended his title, overcoming a 2-shot deficit to Greg Norman with a final round 69. He shot a four-under-par 32 on the back nine, which enabled him to pull away from Norman and Ian Poulter. His eagle on the par-5 17th all but sealed the tournament. He is the first European golfer since James Braid in 1906 to retain the Claret Jug. The win moved him from fourteenth to third in the world rankings, behind only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.^[5]

Just three weeks after winning the Open Championship, Harrington won the PGA Championship over the South Course of the Oakland Hills Country Club, for his third major. Although at five over par after two rounds, he shot eight under par for the weekend, carding successive scores of 66 in the third and fourth rounds. His three under par 277 was two shots ahead of Sergio García and Ben Curtis. Harrington became the first European to win the PGA Championship in 78 years (Tommy Armour in 1930), and is the first winner from Ireland.

Aside from Tiger Woods, who has won consecutive majors three times (2000, 2002, and 2006), Harrington is the first golfer to win two majors in the same year since Mark O'Meara in 1998 and the first to win consecutive majors in the same year since Nick Price in 1994. Furthermore, aside from Woods, he is the first golfer to win three of six consecutive majors in 25 years, since Tom Watson accomplished the feat in 1983, something that only four other players – Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Lee Trevino had previously achieved since the modern "Grand Slam" of four majors began to be recognized in the 1950s.

Harrington's victory in the PGA Championship secured his position as the number one player in Europe, earning him the number one spot in the 2008 European Ryder Cup team under captain Nick Faldo.

2009 to present[link]

Harrington started his 2009 season with a tied-fifth finish in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship on the European Tour. He then went through one of the toughest periods of his career, missing the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, as well as the Northern Trust Open on the PGA Tour. He finished tied-11th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in what would be one of his better results in the early part of 2009. He arrived at the 2009 Masters Tournament looking for three majors in a row and the so-called "Paddy-Slam". He started with a 3-under-par first round, but eventually faded over the weekend, finishing tied for 35th place. His struggles would continue in the proceeding months, as he would miss the cut at five of his next six events, including The 3 Irish Open and the U.S. Open. It was during this period that he announced that he was working on swing changes with coach Bob Torrance. He arrived at The Open Championship at Turnberry looking to complete a hat-trick of Open wins, a feat that has only been achieved by Peter Thomson. He ended up finishing tied for 65th place. This sparked a great run of form for Harrington. He lead for first three rounds of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, which led to a final day head-to-head between himself and World number one Tiger Woods. Harrington led by one shot playing the 16th hole, but he racked up a triple-bogey to Wood's birdie and he finished in joint 2nd place. The following week Harrington, the defending champion, played the first two rounds with Woods at the PGA Championship. He shot a first round 68, ending one shot behind the leader Woods. Rounds of 73 and 69 left him two shots behind Woods. He was in contention in the final round, until he made an 8 at the par-3 8th hole. He ended in a tie for 10th. He finished in the top-10 in all four FedEx Cup playoff events, before further top-10s in Europe and the States before the end of the season. He ended the year ranked number 6 in the world rankings. He ended winless on the European and PGA Tours for the first time since 1999.

Harrington missed the cut in three out of the four majors in 2010. In an inconsistent season, he had five top-10s on the PGA Tour, but also missed six cuts. He was a controversial wild-card pick by European captain Colin Montgomerie for the 2010 Ryder Cup. He won two matches and lost two matches as Europe regained the Ryder Cup. It was his sixth Ryder Cup and fourth time being on the winning team. He won his first tournament in two years at the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia on the Asian Tour. He finished the year ranked 25th in the world.

Harrington started his 2011 season with an opening round 65, for a first round lead at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on the European Tour. He was later disqualified before his second round commenced, after a spectator telephoned in and pointed out an incident of his ball moving an exceptionally small distance closer to the hole on the green, while he was replacing his ball marker, during the first round; it had been shown on television. (The incident led to a rules review, and if it were to occur again, would not be a penalty.) It was the second time he had been disqualified in a tournament. So far in 2011 he has had three top-10s and three missed cuts on the PGA Tour. He missed the cut at the Masters Tournament and finished tied for 45th at the U.S. Open. In June 2011, he dropped outside the top 50 in the World Rankings for the first time since 1999.

Harrington made his first start of the 2012 PGA Tour season at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am where he finished joint top of the Pro-Am leaderboard, along side partner J.P. McManus, with Brian Harman and Greg Ontiveros. Harrington also enjoyed a good finish in the overall tournament with a tied for seventh finish. In March 2012, Harrington shot a 61 in the first round of the Transitions Championship to set a new course record at the Copperhead Course. This was also Harrington's lowest ever round on the PGA Tour. He could not maintain his fantastic first day's play over the remaining three rounds though and finished in a tie for 20th place. This year marked Harrington's return to the top of the leaderboard at majors as he finished tied for 8th at the Masters. After an eagle on his second hole, he finished with a one under par 71. On day two he fought back from a bad start to shoot 73, and on the 14th hole of the 3rd round he shot 6 under for his last 5 holes. A level par 4th round led to a Tied 8th finish and Harrington's first top 10 since 2009.

Personal life[link]

Harrington has known his wife Caroline since childhood. They were married in 1997 and have two sons: Patrick, born in 2003, and Ciarán, born in November 2007.^[6] After Harrington's Open win in 2007, Patrick was caught on microphone asking his father if they could 'put ladybirds in it' (referring to the trophy). Following his win in 2008, there were some light-hearted references to this in a subsequent interview, whereupon Harrington suggested that it was more likely that Patrick would now want snails in the trophy.

Harrington is a distant cousin of 1995 World Series of Poker champion and author Dan Harrington and NFL quarterback Joey Harrington.^[7]

Harrington's given name "Pádraig" is the Irish Language version of the name Patrick, which is in common usage in Ireland. His four older brothers have Irish names as well (Tadhg, Columb, Fintan, and Fergal).

Harrington's caddy since 2004 is Ronan Flood. Flood married Susie Gregan, the sister of Pádraig's wife, in 2007. Flood is also the younger brother of one of Harrington's childhood friends.

After leaving school, Harrington mixed amateur golf with studying Accounting. He passed his final exams in 1994 to gain admittance to ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).

Harrington has undergone laser eye surgery,^[8] as did his compatriot Paul McGinley, in a bid to improve his game.^[9]

Amateur wins (4)[link]

• 1991 Sherry Cup
• 1994 West of Ireland Amateur Championship
• 1995 Irish Amateur Open Championship, Irish Amateur Close Championship

Professional wins (26)[link]

European Tour wins (14)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	12 May 1996	Peugeot Spanish Open	-16 (70–64–67–71=272)	4 strokes	Gordon Brand Jnr.
2	2 Apr 2000	Brazil São Paulo 500 Years Open	-14 (69–68–65–68=270)	2 strokes	Gerry Norquist
3	22 Oct 2000	BBVA Open Turespaña Masters Comunidad de Madrid	-21 (67–64–66–70=267)	2 strokes	Gary Orr
4	11 Nov 2001	Volvo Masters Andalucia	-12 (67–71–66=204)	1 stroke	Paul McGinley
5	6 Oct 2002	Dunhill Links Championship	-19 (66–66–68–69=269)	Playoff1	Eduardo Romero
6	24 Nov 2002	BMW Asian Open	-15 (66–70–68–69=273)	1 stroke	Jyoti Randhawa
7	18 May 2003	Deutsche Bank - SAP Open TPC of Europe	-19 (65–66–70–68=269)	Playoff2	Thomas Bjørn
8	7 Dec 2003	Omega Hong Kong Open	-13 (66–75–64–70=275)	1 stroke	Hennie Otto
9	12 Sep 2004	Linde German Masters	-11 (67–69–67–66=269)	3 strokes	Nick O'Hern
10	8 Oct 2006	Alfred Dunhill Links Championship	-17 (66–69–68–68=271)	5 strokes	Bradley Dredge, Edward Loar, Anthony Wall
11	20 May 2007	Irish Open	-5 (73–68–71–71=283)	Playoff3	Bradley Dredge
12	22 Jul 2007	The Open Championship	-7 (69–73–68–67=277)	Playoff4	Sergio García
13	20 Jul 2008	The Open Championship	+3 (74–68–72–69=283)	4 strokes	Ian Poulter
14	10 Aug 2008	PGA Championship	-3 (71–74–66–66=277)	2 strokes	Sergio García, Ben Curtis

¹Beat Eduardo Romero with birdie on second extra hole
²Beat Thomas Bjorn with a par on first extra hole
³Beat Bradley Dredge with par on first extra hole
⁴Shot 15 (3–3–4–5) in a four hole playoff to defeat Sergio García (5–3–4–4=16)

PGA Tour wins (5)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner(s)-up
1	13 Mar 2005	Honda Classic	-14 (73–69–69–63=274)	Playoff	Vijay Singh, Joe Ogilvie
2	26 Jun 2005	Barclays Classic	-10 (71–65–68–70=274)	1 stroke	Jim Furyk
3	22 Jul 2007	The Open Championship	-7 (69–73–68–67=277)	Playoff	Sergio García
4	20 Jul 2008	The Open Championship	+3 (74–68–72–69=283)	4 strokes	Ian Poulter
5	10 Aug 2008	PGA Championship	-3 (71–74–66–66=277)	2 strokes	Sergio García, Ben Curtis

PGA Tour playoff record (2–1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Opponent(s)	Result
1	2004	Buick Classic	Sergio García, Rory Sabbatini	Garcia won with birdie on third extra hole Harrington eliminated with par on second hole
2	2005	Honda Classic	Joe Ogilvie, Vijay Singh	Won with par on second extra hole
3	2007	The Open Championship	Sergio García	Won in four-hole playoff (3–3–4–5=15, 5–3–4–4=16)

Japan Golf Tour wins (1)[link]

• 2006 Dunlop Phoenix

Asian Tour wins (3)[link]

No.	Date	Tournament	Winning Score	Margin of Victory	Runner-up
1	24 Nov 2002	BMW Asian Open (co-sanctioned with the European Tour)	-15 (66-70-68-69=273)	1 stroke	Jyoti Randhawa
2	7 Dec 2003	Omega Hong Kong Open (co-sanctioned with the European Tour)	-13 (66-75-64-70=275)	1 stroke	Hennie Otto
3	17 Oct 2010	Iskandar Johor Open	-20 (64-67-68-69=268)	3 strokes	Noh Seung-yul

Other wins (8)[link]

• 1998 Irish PGA Championship
• 2002 Target World Challenge (unofficial money, PGA Tour-sanctioned event)
• 2004 Irish PGA Championship
• 2005 Irish PGA Championship
• 2007 Irish PGA Championship, Hassan II Trophy
• 2008 Irish PGA Championship
• 2009 Irish PGA Championship

Major championships[link]

Wins (3)[link]

Year	Championship	54 Holes	Winning Score	Margin	Runner(s)-up
2007	The Open Championship	6 shot deficit	−7 (69–73–68–67=277)	Playoff1	Sergio García
2008	The Open Championship (2)	2 shot deficit	+3 (74–68–72–69=283)	4 strokes	Ian Poulter
2008	PGA Championship	3 shot deficit	−3 (71–74–66–66=277)	2 strokes	Sergio García, Ben Curtis

¹ Defeated Sergio García in four-hole playoff by 1 stroke: Harrington (3–3–4–5=15), García (5–3–4–4=16)

Results timeline[link]

DNP = did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied for place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

Summary[link]

• Starts – 54
• Wins – 3
• 2nd place finishes – 0
• Top 3 finishes – 3
• Top 5 finishes – 9
• Top 10 finishes – 14
• Longest streak of top-10s in majors – 3

Results in World Golf Championship events[link]

¹Cancelled due to terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = tied
NT = No Tournament
Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances[link]

Amateur

• Walker Cup: 1991, 1993, 1995 (winners)

Professional

• Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1999, 2002 (winners), 2004 (winners), 2006 (winners), 2008, 2010 (winners)
  • Record: 25 matches, 10.5 points (x% Point Percentage)
  • All Formats(W-L-H): 9–13–3 = 10.5pts
    • Singles: 3–3–0 = 3pts
      • 2004: beat Jay Haas 1h
      • 2002: beat Mark Calcavecchia 5&4
      • 1999: beat Mark O'Meara 1h
    • Foursomes: 4–4–3 = 5.5pts
      • 2010: Harrington/Fisher bt Furyk/D.Johnson 2&1
      • 2010: Harrington/Fisher bt Mickelson/D.Johnson 3&2
      • 2004: Harrington/Montgomerie bt Love III/Funk 4&2
      • 2004: Harrington/McGinley bt Love III/Woods 4&3
    • Fourballs: 2–6–0 = 2pts
      • 2004: Harrington/Montgomerie bt Woods/Mickelson 2&1
      • 2002: Harrington/Montgomerie bt Mickelson/Toms 2&1
• Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Ireland): 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
• World Cup (representing Ireland): 1996, 1997 (winner with Paul McGinley), 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
• Seve Trophy (representing GB & Ireland): 2000, 2002 (winners), 2003 (winners), 2005 (winners)

Awards/Honours[link]

• International:
  • 2006:
    • European Tour Order of Merit
  • 2007:
    • European Tour Player of the Year
    • Association of Golf Writers Player of the Year
  • 2008:
    • PGA Player of the Year
    • PGA Tour Player of the Year Award
    • European Tour Player of the Year
    • Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA) Player of the Year
    • Association of Golf Writers Player of the Year
    • European Tour Shot of the Year – 5w on 71st Hole in Open Championship

• National:
  • 1996 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
  • 1999 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
  • 2001 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
  • 2002 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award, RTÉ Sports Person of the Year
  • 2004 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award (shared with Darren Clarke & Paul McGinley)
  • 2005 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
  • 2006 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award
  • 2007 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award, RTÉ Sports Person of the Year
  • 2008 Texaco Ireland Sportstar Golf Award, Irish Golf Writers Professional of the Year Award, RTÉ Sports Person of the Year

Facts[link]

• Harrington is the only player in the world to have been partnered with Tiger Woods in a tournament five or more times and to outscore him. Harrington has a 68.83 average in six rounds, compared with Woods' average score of 69.50. The rest of the world's top players averaged over 70.
• In May 2009 he verified that the "Happy Gilmore swing", a swing with a running start, is successful and increased his usual drive of 296 yards by an extra 30 yards.^[10]
• Harrington is the official golfer for FTI Consulting

See also[link]

• List of European Ryder Cup golfers
• List of golfers with most European Tour wins
• List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins
• List of men's major championships winning golfers
• List of people on stamps of Ireland

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Pádraig Harrington at the European Tour official site
• Pádraig Harrington at the PGA Tour official site
• Pádraig Harrington at the Japan Golf Tour official site
• Pádraig Harrington at the Official World Golf Ranking official site
• Irish Examiner.com – "The making of a Major champion" – 28 July 2007

Pádraig Harrington in the Ryder Cup v t e European Ryder Cup team – 1999 Darren Clarke · Andrew Coltart · Sergio García · Pádraig Harrington · Miguel Ángel Jiménez · Paul Lawrie · Colin Montgomerie · José María Olazábal · Jesper Parnevik · Jarmo Sandelin · Jean van de Velde · Lee Westwood Mark James (non-playing captain) Lost: 13.5 – 14.5 v t e European Ryder Cup team – 2002 Thomas Bjørn · Darren Clarke · Niclas Fasth · Pierre Fulke · Sergio García · Pádraig Harrington · Bernhard Langer · Paul McGinley · Colin Montgomerie · Jesper Parnevik · Phillip Price · Lee Westwood Sam Torrance (non-playing captain) Won: 15.5 – 12.5 v t e European Ryder Cup team – 2004 Paul Casey · Darren Clarke · Luke Donald · Sergio García · Pádraig Harrington · David Howell · Miguel Ángel Jiménez · Thomas Levet · Paul McGinley · Colin Montgomerie · Ian Poulter · Lee Westwood Bernhard Langer (non-playing captain) Won: 18.5 – 9.5 v t e European Ryder Cup team – 2006 Paul Casey · Darren Clarke · Luke Donald · Sergio García · Pádraig Harrington · David Howell · Robert Karlsson · Paul McGinley · Colin Montgomerie · José María Olazábal · Henrik Stenson · Lee Westwood Ian Woosnam (non-playing captain) Won: 18.5 – 9.5 v t e European Ryder Cup team – 2008 Paul Casey · Sergio García · Søren Hansen · Pádraig Harrington · Miguel Ángel Jiménez · Robert Karlsson · Graeme McDowell · Ian Poulter · Justin Rose · Henrik Stenson · Lee Westwood · Oliver Wilson Nick Faldo (non-playing captain) Lost: 11.5 – 16.5 v t e European Ryder Cup team – 2010 Luke Donald · Ross Fisher · Peter Hanson · Pádraig Harrington · Miguel Ángel Jiménez · Martin Kaymer · Graeme McDowell · Rory McIlroy · Edoardo Molinari · Francesco Molinari · Ian Poulter · Lee Westwood Colin Montgomerie (non-playing captain) Won: 14.5 – 13.5