Padraig Harrington opened up about the idea of retirement and decline on the course as he joined Paul Kimmage and Joe Molloy for the Sunday Paper Review on Off the Ball this week.
The three-time major winner spoke to Joe about the difficulty he had watching one of his boyhood idols, Seve Ballesteros, deteriorate in front of his eyes.
The Spaniard won five majors during a glittering career, as well as three Irish Opens in the 1980s.
"Seve Ballesteros would have been a hero of mine growing up," Harrington explained. "I played with him all year in 1997 in everything, because he was Ryder Cup captain so every round, I was paired with Seve.
"And, it was a horrible experience. Now, clearly Seve probably had the brain tumour at that stage but here's a guy on the golf course, a hero of mine, who was struggling with this big time, struggling with his game. But it's not just the struggle - it's the fight. Because he's a great champion, it's the hurt that he's going through.
.@padraig_h: "Seve Ballesteros would have been a hero of mine growing up." pic.twitter.com/J33O94maUt
— Off The Ball (@offtheball) January 7, 2018
Harrington continued: "He's dying a death out on the golf course, and you're watching your hero do this. I don't want to be this guy with the young guys.
"This is the thing, I would have loved Seve to walk into every clubhouse and puff out the chest and go 'I'm here,' and the world would have loved him for that," he added.
You can catch the full Sunday Paper Review below:
