Harrington sells branding for good cause
Major winner Padraig Harrington is offering the branding of his clothing and bag for three tournaments to help relative.
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| Padraig Harrington’s sponsors have let him use branding to help a wheelchair-bound relative [GALLO/GETTY] |
Triple major champion Padraig Harrington is to lend financial support to a wheelchair-bound relative by selling branding space on his golf clothing and equipment.
Father of three Gerard Byrne, 35, a cousin of Harrington’s wife Caroline, is paralysed from the waist down and has been told he will never walk again after being involved in a car accident a few weeks ago.
“This is why I never want to complain again about golf,” said the 2007 and 2008 British Open winner and 2008 U.S. PGA champion ahead of this week’s Honda Classic in Florida.
“Gerard will need a lot of assistance in his life – a wheelchair-enabled car, renovations to his home and other things,” he told the Irish Times.
“My sponsors have agreed to allow me to offer all the branding on my clothing and bag to the highest bidder for three
tournaments in March and April,” said Harrington in a reference to the Houston Open, U.S. Masters and Heritage Classic.
The 40-year-old, who has dropped from third to 87th in the world rankings in the last three years, has already received
some offers.
“We have a bid of $134,200 for the front of my cap and $66,835 for a space on my chest,” said six-times Ryder Cup player Harrington who is without a victory since the 2010 Johor Open in Malaysia.