Harrington 'on the wrong road' after decision to split from Torrance

BOB Torrance has claimed Padraig Harrington is "going down the wrong road" after the three-time major winner announced yesterday he is to stop working with his long-standing Scots coach.

The Irishman revealed his decision after missing the halfway cut in the Irish Open at Killarney - won by England's Simon Dyson, with Scotland's Stephen Gallacher third - where Torrance had been on the range working with him earlier in the week.

"Bob has been unbelievably important in my career; he has completely shaped it," said Harrington. "But, at the moment, I'm frustrated and I don't know if I want him standing looking at me. Yet when he's not standing looking at me I am not happy either. So, it's been hard.

"But this is a selfish decision at the end of the day. Where we always had a good argument, there has been less arguing of late. Just more frustration and tension rather than getting it out there. While I don't want to completely break the relationship with Bob, I have got to see what else is out there."

The 39-year-old has said he will re- assess the situation after a three-week trial separation but the decision has stunned Largs-based coach Torrance.

"Padraig is determined to go down a road I think is wrong," said the 79-year-old. "We have worked together for 15 years and always discussed things in the past, but he suddenly decided to make a change to his swing involving tucking his right elbow close in to his body.

"I told him he was going down the wrong road and if he went too far he wouldn't come back. You can make changes when you are in your 20s, but once you get to 40 it's too late. He says he just wants a few weeks break, and the ball is in his court, not in mine. But you can't work with someone for 15 years and not feel disappointment."

Dyson, meanwhile, completed a month to remember by winning the Irish Open. The 33-year-old from York took the first prize of over 221,000 a fortnight after finishing ninth in The Open - an event he went into as fifth reserve less than a week before it started.

"It's a shame you can't bottle how you feel sometimes," said Dyson after his fifth European Tour victory was achieved when Australian Richard Green three-putted the last to lose by one. "It's amazing, it really is. The golf I've played this week is probably the best I've ever played."

Two birdies in the final three holes for a closing 67 and 15-under-par total gives Dyson a place in this week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron and possibly a spot back in the world's top 50. "That was the main aim after The Open," he added.

Gallacher took third on 12-under after a closing birdie. Graeme McDowell came 25th and Rory McIlroy 34th.

269 Simon Dyson 70 65 67 67

270 Richard Green (Aus) 67 68 67 68

272 Stephen Gallacher 71 66 67 68

273 Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 67 69 71 66

274 Soren Hansen (Den) 67 66 72 69, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 69 65 72 68, Alexandre Kaleka (Fra) 65 75 66 68

275 David Howell 69 69 64 73, Peter Lawrie 70 66 70 69, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 68 69 73 65

Selected others: 280 Graeme McDowell 72 66 72 70, David Drysdale 71 70 70 69. 281 Rory McIlroy 70 68 72 71. 284 George Murray 71 70 73 70, Peter Whiteford 70 71 74 69. 286 Richie Ramsay 68 69 76 73. 291 Lloyd Saltman 67 74 77 73.