Padraig Harrington thinks talented golfers are ‘busy’ and need a reality check
Padraig Harrington is the gift of golf that keeps on giving. Just put the microphone in front of the three-time major league champion, and he’ll deliver the goods: long, thoughtful and often thought-provoking comments about the game he loves.
On Tuesday at the 2026 US Senior Open, where he is the defending champion, Harrington gave us something to think about again. In this case, he gave a refreshing insight into the life of modern golfers.
In short, Harrington argued that a typical tournament week would constitute any average golfer’s dream vacation, and that modern pros who complain about “busy” schedules could use a reality check.
Harrington on playing 8 weeks in a row: ‘Who wouldn’t want to do what I do?’
In the process of creating the PGA Tour’s new schedule for 2028 and beyond (which opened last week), much of the narrative has focused on balancing the schedules of the game’s top players.
At the 2026 US Open, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler argued that it is difficult for him to compete in professional events more than three weeks in a row.
Rory McIlroy, who played just nine PGA Tour-sanctioned tournaments this season, was recently given a pass for failing to meet the 15-tournament players must play.
In his prime, Tiger Woods played fewer than 20 events in most seasons.
By those standards, Harrington, who will turn 55 in August, is among the stunners. eight weeks straight of playing the tournament.
“I’m playing eight in a row right now. This is number four,” Harrington said Tuesday at the US Senior Open, before adding, “When I’m 70 years old, I won’t regret playing another event.”
When asked how he manages such a “busy” schedule, Harrington offered a refreshing perspective.
“Who wouldn’t want to do what I do? Every tournament I go to, it’s in the best condition the golf course has for us. Everything is taken care of. Everything runs smoothly,” Harrington said.
Additionally, he said he often reminds himself that any tournament week – where he plays a top-quality golf course in perfect conditions for several days in a row – would be a dream vacation for many recreational players.
“So every week I play golf, and I have to try to remind myself of this, every week I play golf it’s like the average person playing his golf, he saved all his money to have that one week vacation a year, and I can do it 30 times a year,” explained Harrington. “That’s not over for me. I love playing golf. I love being here and competing.”
When the new-look PGA Tour arrives in 2028, top players will face a 20-event schedule. While that may seem like a lot to some modern pros, Harrington sees things differently, arguing that when he started on Tour, 28 tournaments a year was the standard for most pros.
“Yes, so I don’t mind playing more events. Like when I started as a professional, 28 tournaments was your standard,” he said. “It’s really lost in this world, this idea of only playing 20 tournaments or something like that. It was always 28 as the best level back then.”
As for Harrington’s current schedule, following this week’s US Senior Open at Scioto Country Club in Ohio, he will travel to Scotland to play the Scottish Open and then to England for the Open at Royal Birkdale. Next week he returns to Scotland for the Senior Open (where he will once again be the defending champion), then to Portugal for the PGA Tour Champions Portugal Invitational.
