Overconfidence Cost Harrington Sr. PGA

When Cabrera played out of the right rough and found the middle of the green, Harrington, who had been in a similar situation in the same area, commented how good a shot that was and how difficult it was with his foot slipping.

Cabrera stroked his first putt, which was woefully short of the hole, and then it dawned on Harrington that he had just given away the tournament.

It seemed to all come to him in a bolt of lightning: everything he had done wrong over the last four holes. The double-bogey on the 15^th and the bogey on the 18^th had changed a win into a loss in his mind.

“I'd just really like him to two-putt, and he's not, Oh, God,” Harrington said as he watched the first putt come up short.

“Yeah, look, I'm disappointed now,” Harrington said to the assembled media. “Yeah, could be a lot more disappointing if he doesn't hole that, yeah.”

Then, after quickly processing what he had just seen, Harrington decided to move on.

“Okay, thank you guys.”

Harrington then left the interview room and walked to the locker room as Cabrera missed the par putt, winning his second senior major title in two weeks, but this one by a single stroke that Harrington had just given to Cabrera in the end.

For Harrington, the loss stems from being overconfident, an ailment he has struggled with since his early days of playing golf.

“I lost a tournament when I was 18 years of age back -- what was it called, the Irish Youth, and I did the same thing,” Harrington said. “Two ahead with three to play and relaxed. I'm much better off with nerves and tension.”

On Sunday, the overconfidence was evident on the 15^th hole, an easy tee shot with a 5-wood, which Harrington took too cavalierly, costing him dearly.

“Top of the backswing, I'm thinking, don't push it down the right,” Harrington said, describing his mindset on the 15^th tee. “Very simple. If I could do -- if I had the ability to do what I say, I would be the best player in the world, wouldn't I? Unfortunately, I don't.

It was a startling admission by Harrington, one that seems out of character for a three-time major winner.

“If you start off with doubt, when you feel doubt over the ball, it doesn't feel so bad,” Harrington said. “If you start off confident then you feel doubt it's like a blowup. So, yeah, so I was just too confident. Happens.”