Abu Dhabi: Padraig Harrington displayed typical Irish humour when he included a lesson on ball-marking in his children's golf clinic at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship yesterday.
Disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard after TV close-ups showed he'd knocked the ball forward slightly without realising as he replaced it on the seventh green, Harrington has been forced to sit out the next three days despite being second after day one at seven under 65.
Twice an Open Championship winner and once a PGA Championship victor, Harrington coached kids and the onlooking Chris Cairns, Gavin Hastings and Jonathon Davies, of cricket and rugby fame.
"They seemed to think marking your ball is all very easy, but obviously it isn't," said Harrington.
Harrington spent time explaining, in some detail, that he has a set technique for marking his Titleist ball, using the leading edge to align his coin and never sliding it all the way under, specifically to avoid nudging the ball when he removes it.
"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't had my ups and downs, especially given that I'd shot 65 on Thursday, but the whole point about golf is that you have to respect the rules and the whole thing about life in general is that — when things don't go your way you have to find a way to laugh about it.
New Zealand cricketer Chris Cairns said: "I'm just glad they didn't have super slo-mo when I was playing to see how bad my bowling release was".
"It was good to see Padraig out with the kids and having fun with it."
