Padraig Harrington insists Tiger Woods is not done winning majors, despite the icon’s injury.
Woods has made just three competitive appearances so far this year with all of them coming in majors after he made his spectacular return to the course 14 months after his horror car crash.
While the golf legend continues to struggle with the injuries he sustained in the accident, he recently hinted that he may only play golf’s most prestigious events next year as well.
Padraig Harrington (left) says Tiger Woods (right) isn’t done winning majors
However, Harrington believes this could be all Woods needs to win again as he claims the 15-time major champion can win another if he just gets through the final nine holes.
‘If you’re in contention with nine holes to go, he’s going to go there,’ Harrington said at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club ahead of this weekend’s PNC Championship, where Woods is competing with his son Charlie. That stability there. Everything about him. So I wouldn’t think twice about that part.
‘He has difficulty walking. Tiger, if you can take him to the last nine holes of a tournament, I don’t think you’ll have a problem.
The 15-time major winner made his sensational comeback and made the cut at the Masters in April
‘And she is physically beautiful. He looked more into that match. I’m not saying he “could be,” I actually believe he would be a danger. I think he will win another major. I really think he’s going to fight. I’m sure he wishes every tournament he could play, if it’s like a major, he has a chance.’
‘You’d never run Tiger off,’ said Harrington, drawing from the two hours he watched Woods play in a 10-hole made-for-TV exhibition over the weekend. ‘But I think he might be … in a better place than I thought.
‘There are two things that make a golfer – how talented they are and how strong they are,’ Harrington added Thursday after storms swept the PNC Championship pro-am.
The Irish kiss the Claret Jug after winning the Open Championship in 2007
‘Usually you are very intelligent, not very resilient; or becoming very resilient and not very talented. Tiger, throughout his career, has had both of those, which is unusual.
‘So I won’t doubt it.’
What inspired him watching 10 holes in last week’s match was the speed Woods showed in his swing, which he feels is strong enough to keep up with today’s generation and at least get him to the back nine .
‘A little extra speed will help him because of the first 63 holes … you know, who wants to go down the stretch against Tiger?’ said Harrington. ‘You know he can do anything at that stage. I think he’s in a better position to get himself through the last nine holes.’
Harrington’s beliefs differ greatly from Colin Montgomerie’s as the Scot said Woods should have retired at The Open in July.
Colin Montgomerie says the legend should stop at The Open in July
Woods’ former rival said his climb to the 18th at St. Andrews is the perfect moment for the 15-time major champion to bring down the curtain on his glittering career.
‘That was the time,’ Montgomerie told golf website Bunkered. ‘Stand on that bridge, start waving, and everybody goes, ‘So, is that it?’ Yes, it is. It is a glorious way to go.
‘The stands were full, the world’s TV cameras – from all continents – were on him, he was walking there alone, tears in his eyes, obviously, you can’t beat that walk .
Woods raised his cap in recognition of the fans in an emotional scene on the 18th
‘I did it myself. When the stands are full, you can’t beat that walk. … I tell you what, that’s a special, special arena. It’s a theater. That’s when Tiger said, ‘OK, I bow out.’
‘Why then? Go upstairs,’ added Montgomerie. ‘It’s something only a few can do.’
Woods was involved in a single-car crash in February 2021, which left him with serious injuries to his right leg and left doctors thinking it might need to be amputated, according to Woods.
He made the cut at the Masters and the PGA Championship but was forced to withdraw from the latter after the third round as he struggled with his injuries.
Woods missed the cut by nine shots at The Open but his walk down the infamous 18th fairway is still an iconic scene.
He was in a single-car crash in February 2021, which left him with a serious injury to his leg
At the end of his second round, while he did not stop at the famous Swilcan Bridge, he raised his cap in recognition of the fans and their standing ovation.
Woods was also scheduled to play in the Hero World Challenge, an event he hosted in the Bahamas at the beginning of the month, but withdrew on Monday, citing plantar fasciitis.
He is also set to tee it up at the PNC Championship this weekend with his son Charlie, 13, in their third appearance at the event.
