Harrington in Familiar Chaser Role at Senior PGA Championship

Padraig Harrington is in familiar territory entering Sunday’s final round at Congressional: chasing the lead in a major championship.

The Irish star posted a 1-over 73 on Saturday to go from 4-under to 3-under for the Senior PGA Championship. However, the leaders also moved back by a stroke from two players at 6-under to four at 5-under at Congressional Country Club's Blue Course.

In each of Harrington’s major championship wins in his 30s, he entered the final round trailing the leader. Six shots was the deficit to Sergio Garcia at Carnoustie when Harrington won his first major at the 2007 Open Championship. He won in a playoff. The next year, he trailed 54-hole leader Greg Norman by two shots. The very next major he overcame a three-shot deficit to Ben Curtis entering that Sunday at Oakland Hills and left the property with the Wanamaker.

Harrington would be a good candidate as a chaser today at Congressional simply because he’s even fresher now than he used to be entering Sundays in his prime.

There were major championships in the past where Harrington says he would have spent five to six days at the course in preparation for Thursday.

But at the wise old age of 53, Harrington has learned to be more efficient ins his practice during the marathon of a major week so that he’s as rested as possible for a strong Sunday finish.

“On a week like this, I’ve spent three days (Monday-Wednesday) studying the runoffs and the fringes around the greens so that I’m ready as possible for shots off the greens,” Harrington said. “I’m thinking, even if I left something out there in the preparation, I will be fresher by Sunday.”

It's a substantial evolution than how his younger self would have prepared in 2006-07.

“I would have, in my younger years, played 54 holes, practiced for any big tournament, I would have hit every chip and every putt on the course. I’m too old for that now.

"I’d be too tired if I did that, and I was probably too tired back in the day. It wasn’t the right thing to do. “

The former Ryder Cup European captain doesn't have a definitive expectation of what final number he has to chase down because the weather at Congressional creates such a variable.

“It really depends on the wind. I don't know what the forecast is, if it's as windy as this, it would be hard for anybody to go away (near the lead),” Harrington said. “If it's not windy, there are so many people up there, somebody is going to shoot 66, 65. Yeah, you've got to expect if it's a nice day tomorrow, 9-under par. Somebody is going to shoot a good score. There are so many people up there.”