Padraig Harrington has hit back at European Order of Merit rival Retief Goosen's claim that the Irish star is "definitely the slowest player on tour" by saying the South African is "no boy racer himself". With just three events to go, Goosen is less than €50,000 ahead of Harrington, and he turned up the heat on his rival ahead of the Telefonica Madrid Open which starts tomorrow.
Goosen tees off at 1.20pm with Lee Westwood and Soren Hansen, while Harrington is at 1.30pm with Seve Ballesteros and Andrew Coltart. "Luckily he is playing just behind me so I can finish," said defending champion Goosen. "He is on the limit every time. If you are allowed 40 seconds he will take 39. He is not getting fined, so he is fast enough. But he is definitely the slowest player on tour."
Harrington hit back by saying: "that's definitely the pot calling the kettle black and I hope he does not hold me up".
"I am not a candidate for the quickest, but I've changed my routine. I'm going to have to live with people saying things, though - even if I sprinted around somebody still would," added the Ryder Cup star.
Goosen appeared to partly blame Harrington for his failure in a recent competition. "I don't get really angry, but I like to get into some sort of rhythm. I think that's why I struggled at the Dunhill links tournament a few weeks ago. One round took six hours 15 minutes and five hours 50 was the quickest. I can't understand why a normal fourball with amateurs takes four to 4 1/2 hours and we take six even when the two amateurs can pick up on virtually every hole. We were hitting a shot and then waiting 20 minutes. At one point we played four holes in two hours. I get stiff very quickly and it did me no good," he said.
Harrington won the £511,000 Dunhill links tournament first prize to set up the close finish to the money list race. The Irishman now has the added advantage of entering next week's Italian Open while Goosen will be in America at their Tour Championship.
Nine European tour players have been fined for slow play this season, and Harrington is one bad time away from being hit with a £500 fine.
Filed by Greg McKevitt
