Harrington and coach taking a break

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bruced
July 31, 2011

Padraig Harrington has decided to take a break from his longtime coach Bob Torrance.

The two have been working together for 15 years, and Torrance, the father of former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance, was around to help Harrington win his three majors in 2007 and 2008.

In the past, the Dubliner has gone so far as to call Torrance a “genius”, but after missing the cut in the Irish Open on Friday, and sliding even further down the world rankings, to 64th, Harrington feels a break is necessary.

“I’m not thinking of changing personnel. I’ve got to change something in myself, attitude or something along the lines of that,” he said.

“We haven’t split. We are having a break because I am getting very frustrated.

“Until I am ready to listen to what he has to say we are having a break.”

Harrington, who turns 40 in August, will now embark on the next two weeks, where he’ll play in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron followed by the US PGA Championship, without his longtime coach.

He has not won a single event on either side of the Atlantic since he won his last major, the PGA Championship, in 2008 – though he did win the Iskandar Johor Open in Malaysia last year.

Torrance, who has also worked with the likes of Paul Lawrie and Paul McGinley, said: “He’s like a son to me and I hope we can get back together.

“We’ve been together for 15 years and I wasn’t really expecting this, but I know he’s been unhappy.

“His game is in a bad shape because of his mind – I’ve said that to him – but he’s determined to make changes.”

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