Singapore: Padraig Harrington's first tournament win in two years owed as much to the famed "luck of the Irish" as it did to technique but the Iskandar Johor Open champion will take what he can get during these lean times.
"Luck of the Irish, I'll accept that," he said after winning the Asian Tour event in Malaysia to end a barren spell which had stretched back to the 2008 US PGA Championship victory — the third of his major triumphs.
"I got a lot of breaks. Things went my way all four days. There's no doubt that it was my week to win. If you had followed me for the four days, I don't think anyone would have questioned that my name was written on the trophy before the tournament started.
"I hit some good shots and at times, the right thing happened at the right time. That's important when you're trying to win."
Lucrative career
The $198,125 prize is far from the most important of his lucrative career but the significance of getting back into the winner's enclosure was not lost on Harrington.
"It's obviously been a while. Two years is a long time especially when you're reminded every week you play. It's nice and very important for me to go and win. Winning is a habit so it's another good reason to keep winning and get back on track.
"Every time you win is important but when you haven't won for a while it does add a bit more to it, add a bit more emphasis to it. It makes it all the more memorable."
Despite shooting a 20-under 268, the Irishman has plenty of work to do to get back to where he wants to be. First up is more work on his swing.
