One of Europe’s leading hopes to break a six-year drought in the British Open, Padraig Harrington, has withdrawn from this week’s renewal after the death of his father on Monday.
The 33-year-old Irishman — who will attend the funeral on Thursday, which is also the day of the Open’s first round — had been told in March that his father, Patrick, had contracted cancer of the oesophagus.
He considered not playing in the first major of the year, The Masters, but he decided that his father’s condition was satisfactory enough to compete.
Harrington — a two-time winner on the United States PGA tour this season and ranked number nine in the world — returned to top form after a lean spell saw him win again on the US Tour last month.
The Dubliner has played in seven British Opens, with his best performance to date being a tie for fifth at St Andrews five years ago, and was considered a real hope to become the first Irish Republic winner of the tournament.
Harrington revealed in March how his father — a keen golfer and an outstanding Gaelic footballer — had been key to his success.
”I’ve had the best possible background for playing golf, for playing all sports,” he said.
”I couldn’t have got more encouragement from my dad without ever in any sense pushing or wanting to live his life through my sports.
”It was top-notch. When I was growing up, my dad was a very competitive, very intelligent player and he just taught me the art of scoring.
”He would never tell me how to swing the club, but encouraged me to score well and at the end of the day, that’s really where my talents lie.” — Sapa-AFP