Padraig Harrington was involved in a confrontation following his second round at the US Senior Open. The golfer, who is aiming to win the tournament for a second time, got caught up in an argument on Friday.
The 53-year-old is setting his sights beyond the T2 spot he secured at the Senior PGA Championship last month. At the midway point of the US Senior Open, Harrington sits at the top of the leaderboard, locked in a three-way tie with America’s Stewart Cink and Aussie golfer Mark Hensby.
Yet, it wasn’t a completely celebratory moment for Harrington as he walked off the course at Broadmoor Golf Club situated in Colorado Springs. The three-time major champion got caught up in a heated exchange with NBC’s on-course commentator, Roger Maltbie.
The bone of contention seemed to be Harrington’s displeasure over Maltbie’s perceived lack of help during a search for a misplaced golf ball. A local KOAA News5 reporter in Colorado Springs shared the clip, showing Maltbie – a former pro with a handful of PGA Tour victories under his belt – stating his case.
“Never on a golf course stand and look at somebody looking for a golf ball,” Harrington said. In response to Maltbie arguing that this stance was difficult, Harrington countered: “You’ve played golf all your life. You understand.”
As Harrington repeated his point, Maltbie retorted that Harrington was “dead wrong”. Before tensions could escalate further, Harrington’s caddie, Ronan Flood, intervened, but not before Maltbie had his final say: “I’m not a player. I’m working and being paid to do a job.”
Harrington nailed six birdies during his second outing at the US Senior Open. Despite a strong start, he experienced a touch of frustration as half of those birdies were sunk during the first four holes.
“Most of Thursday and Friday is jockeying for position, keeping yourself in the tournament, trying not to lose the tournament, but after the start I had today, I could have got some daylight between myself and the field and got out there,” Harrington said. “I just have to go and do it all again the next two days.”
The golfer acknowledged fellow leader Cink’s influence on his last putt, which secured his tie for the lead. The two share a history of success, with Harrington seizing the Open championships in 2007 and 2008 and Cink grabbing the title in 2009.
“We’ve played together so many times,” Cink admitted. “I would be shocked if there’s anybody I’ve played more golf with in major championships than Padraig Harrington over my career and it’s probably by double the next guy.
“I just get paired with him all the time. This goes way back 20, 25 years. I’ve always respected his game and we’re very good friends with their family.
“It’s a comfortable pairing. I love watching him play. I would hope that he probably feels similarly about me.
“We have mutual respect for each other. He’s a world class player and he’s been doing it a long time. I would love it if we could go the distance here.”