Padraig Harrington is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour. He has won three major championships: The Open Championship in 2007 and 2008 and the PGA Championship, also in 2008. After a successful amateur career, including winning the Walker Cup with the Great Britain & Ireland team in 1995, Harrington turned professional later that year, joining the European Tour in 1996. His first victory came quickly, in the 1996 Peugeot Spanish Open. But for the next few years, the most remarkable thing about his career was the number of times he finished second in European Tour events without ever bettering that position, including four second places in five events in late 1999. With these runners up finishes Harrington qualified to make his Ryder Cup debut in 1999. During this period outside of the European Tour circuit Harrington won the 1998 Irish PGA Championship. However, in 2000 Harrington discovered a winning touch with two European Tour wins at the Brazil São Paulo 500 Years Open in April, and the BBVA Open Turespaña Masters Comunidad de Madrid in October. 2002 was another successful year on the European Tour with particular success towards the end of the season including winning at the Dunhill Links Championship in October, having birdied the final hole to get into a playoff with Eduardo Romero. This win and a further 9 top ten finishes earned Harrington a second place finish of the European Tour's Order of Merit for the second consecutive season. This form earned Harrington a second Ryder Cup appearance, at the 2002 Ryder Cup hosted at The Belfry, in the final day singles Harrington was 5th out and won an important match against Mark Calcavecchia, as Europe regained the cup by a score of 15.5 to 12.5. Harrington continued this winning form into 2003 winning the first event of the 2003 season at the BMW Asian Open in November 2012. Following Harrington's success in 2001 and 2002 he was invited to, and won, the 2002 Target World Challenge, an unofficial event in the USA hosted by Tiger Woods, whilst this is not a PGA Tour event it marked Harrington's first win in the United States. He took membership of the PGA Tour in 2005 and in March he won his first PGA Tour official money event at the Honda Classic, where he beat Vijay Singh and Joe Ogilvie in a sudden-death playoff. Harrington became a Global Ambassador for Special Olympics, the world's largest sports organization for people with intellectual disabilities, in May 2010. He has conducted a number of golf clinics for Special Olympics athletes and coaches.
