Bizarre toilet issue causes double-bogey for Padraig Harrington at Senior PGA Championship
By Matt Chivers
Padraig Harrington made an uncharacteristic double-bogey during the third round of the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.
But there was a reason for this. A rather bizarre one at that.
The 2008 PGA champion was 5-under-par for the day and hadn’t made a bogey all week to that point in Texas.
But after hitting his tee shot on the par-4 16th hole at PGA Frisco, Harrington rushed to the toilet.
“Sixteen came out of nowhere. So, essentially, I went in the toilet,” Harrington explained afterward. “The door was locked.
“Took me a few minutes to realise there wasn’t somebody in there, another while to get the door open. As we are on the Champions Tour, I had the longest pee ever. And then I rushed down the fairway and hit my shot.
How impressive is that! 👏 pic.twitter.com/RTyRawB2va
— National Club Golfer (@NCG_com) May 28, 2023
“I just wasn’t focused. I wasn’t into it, and I hit a bad shot in the hazard. The second one was a bad lie, so I blast that out.”
Being the three-time major champion he is, and the reigning US Senior Open champion, Harrington birdied the final hole to card a 68 to take a one-shot lead over Steve Stricker into the final round.
The Irishman has had somewhat of a resurgence in 2023 – mainly marked by a fourth-placed finish at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January.
He made the cut at the recent PGA Championship, won by Brooks Koepka, and also finished tied for 10th at the Valero Texas Open in April.
But at 51 years of age, his new lease on life has been most evident on the PGA Tour Champions with four victories in total since the start of the 2022 season.
He hasn’t added to this tally in 2023 just yet, coming closest at the Chubb Classic when he was three shots behind the timeless Bernhard Langer.
As well as the quality of his game, it’s clear his sense of humour hasn’t dwindled either.
“So, when you get over 50, it sometimes takes a long time to have a pee,” he added. “That’s my excuse. That’s got to be original, I would assume.”
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Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.
