Padraig Hopes To Defend; Must Overcome Bad Wrist
Padraig Harrington is hoping he can defend his title in the British Open this week at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England. The Irishman managed to get the best of Spaniard Sergio Garcia last year in a four-hole playoff at Carnoustie in Scotland. Since then, Harrington's schedule has been chock-full of activities.
At Birkdale he will be facing a field that doesn't include world No. 1 Tiger Woods, who's still recuperating from surgery on his left knee. Yet his fellow competitors will be out to wrest away the Claret Jug Harrington has held since 2007. But Harrington might not be at full strength after spraining his right wrist while hitting into an "impact bag" on Saturday. The device is sort of a punching bag golfers use to strengthen the wrist.
Harrington missed the next two days of practice and received treatment before playing a practice round at Birkdale. He played the front nine but made sure not to hit any shots out of the rough, grown thick and tall from spring and early summer rains. At the turn, he met with a doctor and decided to limit his practice to around the greens.
Harrington insisted he'll be ready to defend when the year's third major tees off Thursday morning. "Obviously I have to manage it between now and then," he said. "I've got to make sure I don't do anything to it. If I do nothing to it between now and Thursday, I'll be able to play."
When asked how the wrist felt after striking a ball, Harrington said: "Fuzzy. Tingly. I was weak in the wrist, and that's why I didn't play the back nine. I don't want to aggravate it any more."
