COLUMBUS, Ohio — Padraig Harrington’s numbers just skyrocketed, both on the web and in the wallet.
The 54-year-old Irishman successfully defended his U.S. Senior Open title July 5 at Scioto Country Club, an impressive feat that earned him $800,000 from the $4 million purse and undoubtedly added more followers to the approximately 204,000 YouTube subscribers who consider his online golf instruction videos must-see viewing.
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So enamored with his vids are the tinkering golf swing junkies that they cannot help but tell Harrington how much they enjoy them – even during the heat of competition.
“Hey Paddy, thanks for the YouTube tips,” one fan yelled as Harrington walked the fifth fairway on the way to a 4-under 66 that blew away his closest challengers. Harrington began the final round 8-under, one shot behind Stewart Cink and one shot ahead of George McNeill. By the time he reached the third hole he was three shots clear of Cink and four clear of McNeill. From there, he coasted to his third U.S. Senior Open title. Cink finished second at 8 under and McNeill was third at 6 under.
Harrington is among the most likable players in golf, not just on the senior tour but anywhere pros tee it up. It does not hurt that his high-pitched Irish brogue is a most entertaining accent, but what makes him special is his accessibility, which combined with a sterling resume – two British Opens and one PGA Championship in addition to his three U.S. Senior Open titles – serves him up as a guy you want in your foursome. Just be prepared somewhere along the way to be told you suck.
“I’m the youngest of five boys. I’m a little bit of a contrarian. I like nothing better than to tell you you’re wrong,” Harrington said, chuckling. “So I get a sense of satisfaction out of telling somebody who’s a bad chipper, ‘No, you’re actually meant to lift your head when you’re chipping, not keep it down.’
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“Everybody goes, ‘What?’ I get great joy out of telling a beginner, ‘No, you’re not meant to keep your head still. You’re not meant to keep your feet still.’”
But wanting to be right is not the main reason Harrington produces his videos. He genuinely gets a kick out of helping golfers improve.
“I do enjoy trying to make people better as well,” he said. “I just love the idea of trying to change somebody’s golfing world around. I find it interesting.”
It is so interesting, in fact, that Harrington cannot resist “jumping in,” as he called his propensity to offer advice without being asked, whether with full swings, chipping or putting.
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“If you make eye contact, you’re getting a lesson,” he said, smiling. “But the problem is I do get some feedback at times where I’ve had people say – like I’ve given them absolutely the right lesson – and they’ve come back and said, ‘Oh, you’ve ruined my game.’ I didn’t ruin it. It wasn’t me. So I have to be wary that some people just don’t want to be coached. Unfortunately, I jump in there a lot. It’s not a financial thing. It’s just fun.”
Padraig Harrington waves during the trophy ceremony following the final round of the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club in Columbus on July 5, 2026. Harrington won the championship with a -12.
Speaking of fun, Harrington joins Miller Barber as the only three-time winners of the national senior championship. Given that, it’s probably wise for low, mid or high-handicappers to pay heed to Harrington’s helpful hints and occasional harangues on his social media channel.
“It’s only in the modern times that the coaching has got very mixed up,” he said of the hundreds of online and in-person swing coaches who claim to have figured out the game. “I say mixed up because a lot of the good stuff you see out there is for a junior golfer who’s flexible and is going to become a player. It’s not necessarily for a beginner or a 50-year-old.
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“You’ll never see me talking about being on plane in my golf swing or anything in my lessons. I’m just saying release the hell out of the club and make sure you’re not overturning, pretty much plenty of movement. That will get you to low single figures with a little bit of course management on top of it.”
Padraig Harrington tees off on the third hole during the final round of the U.S. Senior Open at Scioto Country Club in Columbus on July 5, 2026.
The danger of coming off as a golf know-it-all is having the undesirable label of “smartest guy in the room” attached to you, but in Harrington’s case that room feels like a party house where it’s hard not to have fun.
“I was going to say that [golf instructional videos] are boring, but what Padraig does is not boring because he’s funny,” Cink said. “He’s not trying to be funny. He just is, because he’s so into it. And people like that.”
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Paddy isn’t ready to quit his day job. The thrill of needing to hit quality shots at crunch time of a major tournament still motivates him. And he did it a lot during the final round on July 5, birdieing the first two holes and closing it out with seven straight pars on the back nine.
The videos are a fun diversion, but his focus is on making hay while he can on the senior tour, knowing that every year it gets harder to win.
“I’m kind of realizing there is only a window to win these tournaments,” he said. “They have told me, other players, that it’s kind of up to about 56 or 57, then it starts going downhill pretty quickly.”
But that is a concern for another day. For now, Harrington holds the distinction of being the first player to win back-to-back U.S. Senior Opens since Allen Doyle in 2005-2006. He knows how to play this game, and at Scioto he showed it. Not on YouTube, but live and in person.
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Sports columnist Rob Oller can be reached at [email protected] and on X.com at @rollerCD.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: U.S. Senior Open champ Padraig Harrington admits he’s ‘a little bit of a contrarian’
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