Notebook: Harrington withdraws after father's death

Ireland's leading hope has left St. Andrews to be with his family in the wake of his father's death on Monday. Plus, Jim Furyk hopes to reverse a negative trend, Seve Ballesteros says he'll be back, an injury knocks David Howell out, and more.

PGA.com news services

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland (AP) -- Padraig Harrington withdrew from the British Open on Tuesday following the death of his father, who was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus in March.

Patrick Harrington, a former policeman, died Monday night. He first learned he had cancer the week after his son won the Honda Classic for his first PGA Tour victory.

Harrington has not missed the British Open since 1996. He was replaced in the field by Henrik Stenson. The tournament starts Thursday.

Harrington rose to No. 6 in the world at the end of last year and was regarded as Europe's best player, especially after his first official victory in the United States in March. But the celebration lasted only until he got home and learned his father had inoperable cancer.

Harrington missed the cut in the Masters and U.S. Open, but he won three weeks ago in the Barclays Classic by holing a 65-foot eagle putt on the last hole at Westchester. That returned him to the top 10 heading into the British Open.

In March, Harrington revealed how his father -- a keen golfer and an outstanding Gaelic footballer -- had been key to his son's success.

"I've had the best possible background for playing golf, for playing all sports," Harrington said. "I couldn't have got more encouragement from my dad without ever in any sense pushing or wanting to live his life through my sports.

"It was top-notch. When I was growing up my dad was a very competitive, very intelligent player and he just taught me the art of scoring," he added. "He would never tell me how to swing the club, but encouraged me to score well, and at the end of the day that's really where my talents lie."

ROYAL SEAL OF APPROVAL: The Royal Bank of Scotland appears to have plenty of pull at the Open Championship, at least when it comes to the pairings.

Jack Nicklaus and England's Luke Donald -- who both have endorsement deals with RBS -- were paired together for the first and second rounds at St. Andrews. Their group also includes five-time Open champion Tom Watson.

The 65-year-old Nicklaus will be playing in the final major of his storied career, while Donald is perhaps the best hope for giving the Open its first British champion since Paul Lawrie in 1999.

Three-time winner Nick Faldo said the pairing with Nicklaus should benefit Donald, even though he'll have to cope with all the furor surrounding the Golden Bear's farewell.

"I think it will be a help because Jack is a great competitor and he's still a competitor," Faldo said. "He still wants to play and he understands the strategy of the golf course as well. He knows where to play smart. So I would have thought that would be a good draw for Luke."

Nicklaus wanted to make his Open farewell at the course where he won in 1970 and '78. The Royal & Ancient juggled its normal course rotation to put this year's tournament at St. Andrews.

To mark the occasion, RBS will issue currency with Nicklaus' picture during the Open. The bank has been issuing its own notes since 1727, and Nicklaus will be the only living person to appear on a Scottish note besides the Queen and the late Queen Mother.

"I picked St. Andrews to end my career because they've taken me as one of theirs,'' Nicklaus said after a practice round. "In the States, they have a purely sports gallery. There's nothing wrong with that, but over here it's purely a golfing gallery, and it means a lot to me as well as other people. It's an appropriate place to end my career."

FURYK'S FALL: Jim Furyk started his Open career like a champion-in-the-making. Then he came to St. Andrews.

Five years ago, Furyk finished in a tie for 41st at the birthplace of golf. He hasn't made the cut since.

That's a striking change from Furyk's first three Opens. He finished fourth in his 1997 debut at Royal Troon, followed by a tie for fourth in '98 at Royal Birkdale and a tie for 10th at Carnoustie in '99.

Coming off a victory at the Western Open, Furyk believes he knows the reason for his troubles in the Open. After joining the PGA Tour, he altered his swing to get more height on his shots.

"I grew up hitting the ball a little lower and flatter. I was comfortable in the wind,'' he said. "But I make my living and my career over there."

Furyk said he may switch from a Callaway to a Hogan ball. He used the Hogan last year and found its trajectory was much lower.

"I'll have to adjust and try to do a little better over here," Furyk said.

SEVE SAYS HE'LL BE BACK: Seve Ballesteros sent a message to his legion of fans at St. Andrews on Monday: "I'll be back."

The three-time champion pulled out of the Open two weeks ago because, after 20 months away from golf battling back and knee problems, he does not feel he is ready to return yet. But he issued this promise:

"I'm only 48 and I don't want any of you writing that this is the goodbye of Seve Ballesteros. I'll be back. I will be back. When I don't know, but I will be back," he said. "I've been practicing and I've been taking care of my back. I've been doing anything possible to be ready for the Open."

"But, not having competed for a year and half, just to come over here to St. Andrews and play without any competitive golf was just too difficult," he added. "If I came and maybe on Wednesday or perhaps in the first round, my back didn't feel good and I have to withdraw, I just don't want that."

Ballesteros is present for the start of the week for some commercial work and also to attend the Tuesday champions dinner, where Jack Nicklaus will be honored in his final major appearance.

FALDO REVEALS BOMB FEARS: Nick Faldo feared that his daughter could have been caught up in the terrorist attacks in London last week. Faldo's eldest daughter, Natalie, was in the capital when the bombings took place and he was initially unable to get in touch with the teenager.

"I was about 20 miles north of London, but my daughter was in town so once I heard, I called her," he said. "Of course, we couldn't get through, all the cell phones were shot, but I managed to contact her eventually. I think once everybody was rounded up, they'd already made a plan to get out of London by lunchtime, because it took three hours to do a normal journey that takes an hour.

Asked if the bombings would have an impact on the Open, the six-time major winner added: "I think as Londoners have shown, you carry on. These people are out to disrupt our lives and freedom, but we will just simply stand up and carry on."

INJURY KNOCKS HOWELL OUT: David Howell has withdrawn from the Open Championship after failing to recover from an abdominal injury. Howell, 11th in his Masters debut in April, suffered the injury while hitting balls on the driving range before the second round of the U.S. Open last month, but had hoped to be fit to play at St. Andrews.

His place will be taken by fellow Englishman Brian Davis, the next player in the world rankings not already exempt.

It is a massive blow to Howell who has been in the form of his life this season. The European Ryder Cup star had a lengthy spell on top of the leader board at Augusta and partnered with eventual winner Tiger Woods in the third round, then fought his way into playoffs for the British Masters and Irish Open in consecutive weeks.

Davis, meanwhile, was packing up in London for a trip back to America for the B.C. Open on Monday when he was told he had a place at St. Andrews.

His family will be a key motivation for him in his sixth Open appearance.

Father-in-law Ray Clemence, a former England goalkeeper, has been receiving treatment for prostate cancer and his own father has recently had an operation after the discovery of a tumor behind an eye.

"I so wanted to win [the British Masters] for them, but now I've got a chance in the Open I didn't expect," he said. "I didn't even know about reserves coming off the world rankings and when I looked at it I still thought I had no chance."

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