Not Kiradech Aphibarnrat.
Not Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed or Rory McIlroy.
Not Seve, Phil or Tiger.
Padraig Harrington was then asked: If he didn’t believe those pros had a better short game than him, did that mean he had the best short game? The three-time major winner then took a break.
And an interesting piece of social media content continued.
It came through the people with the DP World Tour social media teamfrom this week’s Qatar Masters lineup, where a producer had told Harrington this: He would name ten names – but Harrington would have to shout if any of those names had a better short game in his opinion. You may have seen similar style videos. They’re fascinating – we like rankings and we like opinions – and this one was too.
Did Aphibarnrat have a better short game? Harrington said nothing. What about Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick or Cam Smith? Nothing. Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed or Shane Lowry? Nothing. Not even Seve Ballesteros, Phil Mickelson or Tiger Woods?
Still nothing.
“So you’re the best?” the producer asked.
Harrington then made a case.
“All I know is,” he said on the video, “when they did the stats in the States, they were winning strokes, they used my ten worst years, and at that stage I was third and only because I’m not a very good chipper in the fairway. But I’m the number one out of the rough, and that was the worst of my career. Before that I was much better. I’ve had some dodgy times in the ten years they used.”
“Going into my prime, I was the ultimate professional – as they say, the dogs that chase cars, the professionals that putt for pars, don’t last. But I was the ultimate professional that putt for pars.”
But weren’t Ballesteros, Mickelson or Woods better?
Harrington again had some thoughts.
“Yeah, there’s been a few — look, everyone on their day — Phil Mickelson can probably take the best of the best shots,” he said on the video. “Yeah, Tiger was as good as you could get, as gritty as you could get. I don’t think you can argue with Tiger; he didn’t seem to leave anything behind.
“But when it comes to chipping, I’ll stand up to anyone.”
You can watch the full video below.
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