Padraig Harrington of Ireland will start his season on the PGA Tour in the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale and the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in La Jolla on the West Coast Swing.
The three-time major champion, one of the most popular players in golf, received sponsors exemptions to play in both events after finishing 188th on the money list in 2013-14 and losing his playing privileges.
The 43-year-old Harrington, who is No. 264 in the World Golf Rankings, showed that his game might be returning when he claimed a two-stroke victory in the Bank BRI Indonesian Open two weeks ago.
“Winning is a good habit to have,” Harrington said after winning for the 29th time in his career, but the first since the 2010 Iskandor Jahor Open in Malaysia. “It gives you a lot of confidence and I need that confidence.
“I didn’t start too well but I came through and I got the win. This win brings a lot of confidence to my game and hopefully it will show up next year. … I have 49 days off, seven weeks, and I reckon my goal is to make, let me get this right, 100,000 swings, 2,000 swings a day. I look forward to seeing if I can do it.”
Harrington’s last victory on the PGA Tour came in the 2008 PGA Championship at Oakland Hills.
