For three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, Champions Tour is 'new lease on life'

On its face, Padraig Harrington has no reason to be here. Three major championships and $25 million in career earnings have earned him a rightful place on any beach of his choosing. At 51, there’s nothing left for him to prove in golf.

But Wednesday afternoon, there Harrington was, taking shelter from the biting rain beneath an overhang at Phoenix Country Club.

“What's not to like about coming to these beautiful, sunny climates?” Harrington deadpanned, drawing laughs from a crowd gathered to speak with him before the start of the Charles Schwab Cup Championship — the PGA Tour Champions circuit's equivalent to the PGA Tour Championship.

Over the next four days, Harrington will compete for the title of Charles Schwab Cup champion, the season-long winner of the over-50 Champions Tour. His opponent for that crown is a journeyman New Zealander named Steven Alker. At his peak, Alker was an average player on the Korn Ferry Tour. He’s here to earn a living.

That’s not the reality for Harrington. There’s a reason that, if you had asked him six years ago, he wouldn’t have expected to be here at all.

Related: Bernhard Langer can tie Champions win mark at Charles Schwab Cup

In Harrington’s mind, golf takes the form of a 20-year career. The rise, the peak, the fall — it all fits in that timespan. Indeed, his career followed that arc.

He went pro in 1995 and became a budding superstar on the European Tour, where he spent the first half of the 2000s winning multiple events a year. In 2007 and 2008, he peaked, winning consecutive Open Championships and a PGA Championship. As the game began to pass him by, the 2010s were less rewarding. The 2015 Honda Classic — 20 years after going pro — would be his final win on the PGA Tour.

From there, it became a grind just to play in tournaments. The demanding days of hitting balls and lifting weights for 12 hours were no longer yielding success.

“There's no doubt I was burnt out there,” Harrington said. “You just can push for so long when it comes to golf.”

So in his final years on the PGA Tour, Harrington came to an understanding. Winning events would require a miracle. But by reducing his training hours and simply enjoying the game, he could get value out of his career, even after the end of his self-described 20-year playing window.

“I had a bit of a breakthrough,” Harrington said. “I had a good look about what I enjoy about golf and decided I really like playing golf, I like being out here.”

In his final years on the PGA Tour, that mentality is what kept him going. There were, though, blips along the way, most notably when he posted a fourth-place finish at the 2019 PGA Championship — nine years after his previous top 10 at a major.

“It felt pretty exciting that day,” Harrington said.

Ultimately, even in the acceptance stage of a prosperous career, Harrington discovered that there’s an irresistible pull to winning. On the Champions Tour, he can experience that weekly. He held off Steve Stricker in June to win the 2022 U.S. Senior Open in Bethlehem, Pa.

So, if you’re asking why Padraig Harrington is still here, why he’s still playing competitive golf, that’s the answer.

“It's a new lease on life,” Harrington said. “You're trying to win tournaments, you're hitting great shots under pressure, you're hitting shots and waving to the crowds. It reminds you of the good days. Really, that is it. There's an element of when you're winning a tournament, it feels like it used to feel like 20 years ago and that's a nice feeling.”

Theo Mackie covers Arizona high school sports and the Arizona Diamondbacks. He can be reached by email at theo.mackie@gannett.com and on Twitter @theo_mackie.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'New lease on life': Why former major champ is playing in Schwab Cup