Is Padraig Harrington an underrated golf star?

Check in every week for the unfiltered views of our writers and editors as they analyze the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Padraig Harrington’s impact on golf, Evian’s chances for Nelly Korda and Jordan Spieth’s return to Birkdale

Padraig Harrington defended his US Senior Open title to win his fourth major title (to go with three others) on Sunday in Ohio. Earlier in the week he also talked about “busy” professional golfers and the reality check he thinks they need. Does the 54-year-old Hall-of-Famer get enough credit not only for his accomplishments in golf but also for his stewardship of the sport along the way?

Josh Schrock, news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): Maybe not, but we tend to appreciate things long after they’re in the rearview mirror. Not only has he become the greatest manager of the game, but his longevity and ability to win on the Champions Tour and stay in the top spots, as he did at Aronimink this year, is admirable. You won’t be surprised if he sniffs his way into a weekend at Birkdale, too.

Nick Piastowski, editor-in-chief (@nickpia): No, he didn’t. Between what he does with YouTube instructions and the openness he offers in media settings, there may not be a better expert today in… to increase the game. (Yeah, yeah, I know.) If you’re going to build interest in what you’re doing, you need to let people in, and Paddy gave everyone a key. He’s as good off the course as he is on the course, and he’s even better at the latter.

Josh Berhow, managing editor (@Josh_Berhow): You had such an interesting career. He is known for his three major titles that he has accumulated in no time, but there is also this other side of him that most people know as the guy who is always crippled with strange training equipment on the range. Paddy’s most recent win comes at an interesting time, too – just as a few guys around his age (Tiger and Phil) are walking away from the sport, at least for now. Harrington remains among them; the way we thought those guys would do it too. It’s good to see Paddy still successful, though, and having the experience to talk about what a privilege it is to continue playing professional golf.

Jordan Spieth opened up about sports gambling and its impact on the game (and possibly Wyndham Clark at the US Open) while at the John Deere Classic, although some on social media were quick to point out Spieth’s role as a FanDuel brand ambassador. The PGA Tour has also embraced gambling partnerships over the years. “You can touch the gun if you want,” Spieth said. “I don’t know any other sport that you can touch as a fan like you do playing golf.” While it’s hard to argue with Spieth’s logic, is there a solution to this going forward? Should there be?

Scrock: There is no solution. The genie is out of the bottle, and it’s almost impossible to get it back, short of a return to the global prohibition of sports gambling. The PGA Tour is putting in place basic rules to protect players from gambling-related abuse, as our Sean Zak detailed a few months ago. The PGA Tour has embraced gambling because it can lead to more eyeballs, which all sports chase. But this is a product of that rush. I will argue that I don’t think gambling was the main reason the crowd at Shinnecock was hard on Clark. That may have been a side piece, but there were bigger things at play.

Piastowski: Hmm. First, I think gambling is part of the problem here. It’s like blaming the loss of the ball solely on the quarterback when several mistakes lead to a loss. Is gambling a crime? A little bit. Is alcohol a crime? A little bit. Are phones to blame? A little bit. Is social media to blame? A little bit. Are young, non-golfer fans to blame? A little bit. Is the loss of shame to blame (a point my colleague James Colgan wrote about eloquently here)? A little bit. Wow. Okay, let’s answer the question now. My idea would be to ban betting on golf tournaments in the state where they are being played that week.

How: That’s an interesting idea, Nick. Although I’m not sure there’s much of a solution here. If the broadcast puts the odds on screens and the Tour lists the odds next to the players’ names on their website, you’re already in too deep. The real solution to improved fan behavior is simply hoping that golf fans are decent people when they attend tournaments, but for a few members of the public, that is unfortunately too much to ask.

Speaking of Spieth, he’s skipping this week’s Genesis Scottish Open and heading to the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale – home of his last major victory, in 2017 – a few days earlier. Will the good vibes of that Claret Jug and success on that golf course change his season come open week? Do you like his chances in the final marks of the year?

Scrock: When I spoke with Spieth at the PGA, he said it was the best he’d felt going into a major tournament since he won in 2017 and, he said, it was the best chance he’s had to win a high score since leaving Birkdale. How much stock can you put in that? I don’t know. His game has always been dynamic; you play new putters and it just doesn’t look like it’s there. But maybe good memories can trigger something. However, I have no hope.

Piastowski: You know, I think he’s building to something. He sounds confident. Spieth before this week’s John Deere said: “I mean statistically I feel like I can lead every category in a given week, and I have this year. It means every part of my game can be at a higher level. I haven’t put it together and put it together consistently enough yet. But my mechanics are mainly the best. And then the confidence building, that was trusting in something, trusting in my stuff. But when it happened, it happened.” We love that. But Birkdale is no pitch-and-putt. A big win is coming for Spieth, but maybe not in two weeks.

How: The funny thing about Birkdale is that Spieth’s Sunday win over Matt Kuchar was the most Spieth-like day ever. Ups, downs, the ball on the driving range, the go-get-that putt. (It is still, to this day, my favorite topic I’ve ever talked about in person.) The weird thing about Jordan is that he does the math with him. Some weeks he’s just better at getting the ball in the hole than others, which might be one of the dumbest sentences I’ve ever written, but I think most people who have watched enough Jordan Spieth golf understand what I’m getting at. When he is there, the magic comes to him. I don’t think he will win at Birkdale, but I like the issue and hope he plays well and enters. If there’s a place (not named Augusta) for him to win his next major, this is as good a bet as any. His game is going well at the Open Championships.

Nelly Korda’s next chance at the Hall of Fame (and career Grand Slam) will begin this week at the Evian Championship in France. Do you do it?

Scrock: He will enter, but I don’t think he will win this week. I think she is saving her third major win for the AIG Women’s Open in a few weeks. I’ll go with Lottie Woad, last year’s Evian contestant, making her first major tournament.

Piastowski: Three big wins in a year is a lot to ask. Hall will come, but probably not this week.

How: I think he will have to wait another week. The putter has been cold at the KPMG Women’s PGA, and she hasn’t finished in the top 20 at Evian in the last two years (and has never been better than T8). Regardless, he won’t have to wait long in the Hall, whenever that day comes.

Happy Fourth of July weekend! Our own Josh Sens recently wrote about America’s most exclusive (and secret) golf club, which got us thinking: what’s the best under-the-radar course you’ve played this year?

Scrock: Admittedly I haven’t been out as much as I would have liked so far this year. But I did play Quail Run Golf Course outside of Bend, Oregon, earlier this year. It’s a brutally fun song if you play it from the tips in the air, as we unfortunately chose to do.

Piastowski: Man, the Tour Confidential questioner must think we play golf all the time. I’ll go with the course I’ll be playing next month – Lawsonia in Green Lake, Wis. We go there every year, and there’s a reason why.

How: Be careful what you say about the questioner. This year? Nothing comes to mind. Next week? Dozens of courses in Brainerd, Minn., are one of the most rated golf courses in the States. (And if you’re not golfing, you get to live on boats. Paradise.)