The Monster waits for the start of the 2008 PGA
6th August 2008
Harrington reckons good driving is key to the taming of Oakland Hills as he eyes the possibility of back-to-back Majors.
Padraig Harrington believes good driving will determine whether or not he can add a title at the US PGA Championship to the one he collected at The Open Championship last month.
The two-time Open Championship winner, who was part of the European Ryder Cup Team that triumphed at Oakland Hills Country Club in 2004, played nine holes of practice on both Monday and Tuesday at the par-70, 7,395 yard South Course before concluding: "It’s just a bigger golf course.”
An extra 300 extra yards have been added since the Irishman’s 2004 visit, and this time he is expecting a more rigorous set-up.
The 36 year old said: “Since we have come back, there's more drivers off the tee, it's enclosed with more bunkers, I suppose most of them were there the last time but I think that you got to hit driver, you've got to hit it straight.
“And the greens, while they’re incredibly difficult to putt on, they're at least a little bit more receptive than they were back in The Ryder Cup (in 2004).”
The Irishman compared the golf course to those set-up for previous editions of the US Open.
He said: “I think this golf course is set up more like what a US Open was set up three or four years ago where missing the fairway by a couple of yards is the same as missing it by ten yards. There is no difference once you go off, there's no first cut, second cut, third cut of rough.
“So this is a tougher test in those terms, and it's a more intimidating test and more punishing in the sense that a slight miss is just as bad as a big miss. Maybe even a big miss might get away with more.
“So it will be an interesting golf course to see shot management out there and whether to be aggressive or not, or whether to play very cautiously.”
Article courtesy of Europeantour.com