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Golf

Padraig Harrington remembers Christy O'Connor and reveals how he overcame the 'yips' in his game

Irish golfer Padraig Harrington joined Joe Molloy on Off The Ball, to talk about his ps...



 Padraig Harrington remembers...
Golf

Padraig Harrington remembers Christy O'Connor and reveals how he overcame the 'yips' in his game

Irish golfer Padraig Harrington joined Joe Molloy on Off The Ball, to talk about his psychological approach to the game and his respect for Christy O'Connor's raw love for sinking shots.

And for Padriag Harrington, appreciating the process of taking shots, is of paramount importance.

''I cured my own yips by focusing on something I could control so for me I said 'this is what I'm gonna do on this put' and regardless of what the result is, I can find comfort in doing this whether I succeeded in it or not. I pick the piece of the process that if I succeeded in doing that was enough for me and I could walk away with my head held high.''

He went on to explain the significance of reconciling with the reality that not every shot is going to end successfully for you and also, trying to overcome the pessimistic ''chimp'' in his head.

''Your chimp always over-reacts to the situation and believes where you missed the put or held the put, is life or death which clearly you have to keep telling him that it's not.''

The three-time major champion, who actively avoids reading newspapers for his own peace of mind, also spoke about an occasion in his youth when he looked on with admiration at Christy O'Connor, the Irish legend who sadly passed away earlier this year.

''He was hitting draws and fades and you could see from the clubhouse that it was majestic. He was doing it purely for the joy and beauty of hitting shots. It was magnificent to see that someone could love the game and enjoy the majesty of making a nice strike. That's why we play the game.''

''When you played with him, he wanted to help you and give you the advice. He was stern but he was willing to give that. He didn't keep it to himself.''

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