Members happy to play on holy ground

THERE WAS a feeling of déja vu and awe at Stackstown Golf Club yesterday. Less than a month after his historic win at the British Open, their most famous member had won another major.

"We'll have to walk on holy ground today," said Jason Sherlock, who was going out to play a round at the club in the foothills of the Dublin mountains yesterday.

After a difficult first couple of days at the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills, when he complained of fatigue following his Open win, Pádraig Harrington's comeback took many by surprise.

"But his enthusiasm rose on the back nine and then the excitement was absolutely fantastic, heart-attack style," lady captain Muriel O'Shea said .

"It's nothing short of a miracle. I never saw putts like some of his," said Brian Kelly, a long-time member at the club.

Like many members, Kelly stayed up until the early hours of Monday to watch Harrington's victory. "When there was a break in the game we decided we would go home and watch it before it got too late," vice-captain Noel Burke said.

Since his first British Open win last year, many at his home club have seen a new-found confidence in Harrington's game.

"He had the look of a winner and it was the same at Birkdale. He has a totally different mindset than he had before he won his first major. He is mentally tough and believes in himself," Mr Burke said.

"I never saw him look so determined and never saw him try so hard," lady president Nancy Aherne said.

With these latest wins Harrington is nipping on the heels of the world's top player, so can he match the might of Tiger Woods?

"Definitely," said Mr Burke. "We think he would have won even if Tiger had played . . . He has reached a plateau and it would be hard to knock him off. It is just a pity there are not a few more majors left this year."

The next generation of the club's golfers was also excited by Harrington's achievements - the club has recently had a huge number of juvenile applicants.

Young golfers Rory O'Carroll (19) and Niall Butler (18) were celebrating the win yesterday.

"I was at an Irish bar in Berlin on Sunday and there was a hundred Irish people there cheering him on," Niall said.

"It's some achievement. Confidence was a big thing to help him win," Rory added.

While the club had had an increase in international visitors in recent years, now that Harrington has had a big US win, "half of America will be coming here in the next year", Ms O'Shea said.

Pictures of Pádraig and plaques of his wins (with space left for more) proudly adorn the club's foyer walls.

"He is a great ambassador for golf and for the country. He always has been and always will be," said club member Stan Kealey who lives on the same road that Pádraig grew up on in Templeogue.

"I remember him out putting as a young man on cold evenings. He would practise the same hole until he got it right. It was pure dedication," Mr Kealey remembers with a smile.

"Pádraig is the man, everyone adores him."

However the welcome home party at the club will have to wait as Harrington is not expected back in Ireland until September.

"I understand he is not coming back for the moment as he is committed to other tours in America," Mr Burke said.