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Wilson Staff Products in the Bag
Harrington, a Wilson Staff professional since 1998, is instrumental in the development of the new Wilson Staff irons, driver and wedges.
He plays the Wilson Staff FG Tour irons #4-PW, Wilson Staff FYbrid 3 fairway wood , Wilson Staff DXi 3 hybrid Wilson Staff FYbrid 5 fairway wood , Tw9 Wedges (54°). He also wears Wilson Staff headwear and carries a Wilson StaffTour Bag.
Biography
Padraig's professional career began at the European Tour School where he earned his full Tour card for 1996. He made the cut at his first nine European Tour events, including five top-10 finishes and a win at the Spanish Open. Other top ten finishes saw him finish 11th in the Order of Merit for the year and secured him places in the Irish Dunhill Cup and World Cup teams.
In 1997, 6 top ten finishes including his second place at the Volvo Masters, allowed Padraig climb to 8th position in the 1997 Order of Merit. He was again selected for the Irish World Cup and Alfred Dunhill Cup teams and partnered Paul McGinley to victory in the World Cup, the nation's first for 39 years. With his four top ten finishes, and a win in the 1998 Irish PGA Championship, he proved himself as one of the best players in Europe.
1999 represented Europe in the Ryder Cup. Padraig's impressive win in his singles match against Mark O'Meara was one of the most courageous performances of recent times. Padraig followed his Ryder Cup debut with a second place in the Linde German Masters, losing in a play off to Sergio Garcia. His tremendous form and numerous top 10 finishes saw him selected for the Cisco World Match Play where he was victorious over Carlos Franco and Ernie Els, only to lose in the semi final to the eventual winner, Colin Montgomerie.
Padraig began 2000 by ending his run of nine runner-up spots since his first European Tour win, to claim his second title at the Brazil Sao Paulo 500 Years Open. Padraig's playing schedule took him around the world and in the first two US Majors of the year, featuring prominently on the leader board at both the Masters and then the US Open, where he finished as joint top European in joint 5th place. Padraig finished the year by capturing the BBVA Turespana Masters de Madrid for his second victory of the year. Padraig's solid play throughout 2000 led to him being selected again for the Cisco World Match Play and to again represent Ireland at the Dunhill Cup at St Andrews, and at the World Cup in Buenos Aires.
In 2001, he finished runner up on seven occasions and finally finished the season with a dramatic win at the Volvo Masters in Jerez. Padraig also topped the table in the year's Stroke Average and Greens in Regulation categories and finished the season ranked 10th in the world!
2002 saw Padraig establish himself as one of the world's top players and his World Ranking continued to rise to a career high of 6th in the world. Padraig managed to achieve one of the goals he set himself for the year, which was to perform better at the Majors, finishing 5th at both the Masters and The Open and 8th at the US Open. Following on from a highly successful Ryder Cup where Padraig played an integral part in the victorious winning European Team, he proceeded to win the prestigious Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews and ultimately finish second on the European Volvo Order of Merit. Padraig topped off a superb year by beating Tiger Woods in the final round at his own event, the Target World Challenge, in the US.
Padraig has won three times on the 2003 European Tour at the BMW Asian Open, the prestigious Deutsche Bank Open, and more recently at the Omega Hong Kong Open, as well as finishing runner up at the Benson & Hedges International Open and the Madrid Open. He finished the year ranked 8th in the World.
2004 brought Padraig two wins on the European Tour out of 20 events. He won at the Omega Hong Kong Open and followed it up with a win at the Linde German Masters.
2005 was a memorable year for Padraig in that he became the first Irishman to win a USPGA Tour event. In actual fact he won two of them that year! The first came at the Honda Classic and the second win was at the Barclays where he sank a 66 foot eagle putt on the last hole to pip Jim Furyk by one shot. Padraig also had the distinction of beating Tiger Woods in a play off at the Dunlop Phoenix Open on the Japan Golf Tour in November of that year.
2006 was the year that Padraig achieved one of his lifelong ambitions, winning the Volvo Order of Merit. He played 20 times that year on the European Tour , won once (Dunhill Links) and finished second three times (Volvo Masters, French Open and the BMW International Open). The Ryder Cup was also held in the K Club in Ireland that year and Padraig was an important part of the successful European team which won by a record 18.5 to 9.5 points.
2007 was the year that Padraig finally realized his Major dreams. After laying the hoodoo of no Irish winner at his home championship for 25 years, he won in a play off at Adare Manor against Bradley Dredge. He continued his play off success with a win in the Irish PGA Championship at the European Club before breaking through to win the Open Championship in another play off at one of his favorite courses, the feared Carnoustie Links. He was the first European to win a major since Paul Lawrie in 1999 and the first Irishman to win the Open since Fred Daly in 1947.
2008 dawned and after a first major win in 2007 it was to be a year of spectacular success. Two wins for the year would in itself have been an achievement but to win two more Majors was and still is an amazing achievement when you consider that Padraig has now won three of the last six Majors played. He defended his Open Championship in style at Royal Birkdale in atrocious weather (the first European to do so in 102 years!) and then followed that up with a spectacular win in the USPGA Championship, (the first European to win since 1930!) where he putted like a man possessed on the back nine to win the hearts of many Americans watching. He was later awarded the PGA Player of the Year award, only the second European to have received this prestigious award. He reached a career high of 3rd in the world rankings during 2008.
National Teams to date
Ryder Cup - (5 appearances) 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008
Dunhill Cup - (5 appearances) 1996 - 2000
World Cup - (11 appearances) 1996 - 2006 (winner in 1997 (with Paul McGinley))
PGA Tour Victories to date
2005 (2 titles) Honda Classic, Barclays Classic
2007 (1) Open Championship
2008 (2) Open Championship, USPGA Championship
(Majors and WGC events count on both tours as wins)
European Tour
1996 (1 title) Peugeot Spanish Open
2000 (2) Brazil Sao Paulo 500 years Open, BBVA Open Turespana Masters
2001 (1) Volvo Masters
2002 (1) Dunhill Links Championship
2003 (2) Deutsche Bank Open TPC of Europe, BMW Asian Open
2004 (2) Linde Germans Masters, Omega Hong Kong Open
2006 (1) Dunhill Links Championship
2007 (1) Irish Open
International Victories
2006 Dunlop Phoenix, Japan
Other Victories
2002 Target World Challenge
Irish PGA Championship - (5 titles) - 1998, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008
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