By Staff Reporter
Padraig Harrington is celebrating after winning the US Senior Open for a second time on Sunday. The 53-year-old defeated Stewart Cink by one shot at the Broadmoor Golf Club.
The Irish golf icon is married his childhood sweetheart Caroline, who was cheering him on in Colorado as he picked up an $800,000 cheque for winning the tournament.
The couple first crossed paths in their youth at Stackstown Golf Club in Dublin, where Caroline herself was quite the golfer.
After passing his accountancy exams in 1994, Harrington chose to chase his passion, swinging into a pro golf career by 1996.
He married Caroline in 1997, with the pair having their first child together, Patrick, in 2003, with their second son, Ciaran, born in 2007.
Caroline earned a degree in business but gave up her job as an insurance broker after marrying the three-time major champion.
A golf fanatic herself, the pair live in a stunning home in Rathmichael, south county Dublin, complete with an extensive golf practice area.
Harrington’s loyal caddie Ronan Flood is married to Caroline’s sister Susie.
Ever-present on tour, Caroline accompanies her hubby, acknowledging the solitary nature of a pro golfer’s life.
On the fellowship they share while trotting the globe, she’s remarked: “There was always someone to go out for dinner with that night, always someone to talk to if you’d had a bad day. I watched all the golf.
“I would walk 18 holes a day. When he wanted to talk to me about it, I knew exactly where he was coming from.”