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The 53-year-old Irishman “came in pretty strong� and has produced 37 Top 15 finishes since his PGA Tour Champions debut three years ago.

Harrington credits playing well in PGA Tour events in his 40s before earning PGA Tour Champions status at 50 years old.

“It’s very important, if you want to have a good Champions Tour career, that you don’t have a 10-year lull,� Harrington said. “So if you kind of retire from the young guys at 40, it’s hard to come back at 50. You need to keep going. I would have been and still am competitive with the young guys. It’s nice to get out here and have an advantage when you’re a little younger than the other guys. I obviously have a distance advantage, but my game is still strong enough.

“As I said, I’m still happy that I can go out and compete with the young guys. If I get the right golf course out here on the Champions Tour, I definitely have an advantage.�

Harrington tees off again this week at the Cologuard Classic by Exact Sciences, a three-day event running Friday through Sunday, at La Paloma Country Club. Harrington, who played in his first Cologuard Classic last year, said the “course is in great shape� and desert golf has “its own unique issues and problems.�

One “unique issue� that’s rare for golf events in Arizona: inclement weather. The forecast for Friday is a high of 53 degrees with an 80% chance of rain. Cold, wet weather is inevitable, but “we live and hope that we get up tomorrow and the forecast isn’t what it’s supposed to be,� Harrington said.

“But look, it should suit me if the conditions are tough, but I don’t like it,� Harrington said. “I’m old now, I’m soft, I like playing in nice (and) sunny weather, nice (and) sunny conditions. Yeah, I’ll put up with it for the round, but I ain’t looking forward to it.�

Harrington, a Dublin, Ireland native, “practiced and played in conditions that I wouldn’t let my dogs out in now,� he said.

“It did build up some resilience,� Harrington said. “Look, whatever we get tomorrow, I guarantee I’ve spent half my days playing and practicing in worse conditions at home. In terms of tournament golf, we don’t generally play in really bad stuff. ... But as I said, as pros we might get a hole or two in bad weather, but generally if it’s really bad they pull us in. The bad weather is really for back in our amateur days, they just left us out in those days, play on.�

Harrington is one of several notable names in the field at the Cologuard Classic. Here are five more names to pay attention to:

Miguel Angel Jimenez

Schwab Cup ranking: 2

The rundown: Jimenez is one of seven Cologuard Classic champions in the field this year, joining defending winner Joe Durant, David Toms, Kevin Sutherland, Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman and Woody Austin. Jimenez, also known as “The Mechanic,� won the Cologuard Classic in 2022 after recording two aces. In the first Cologuard Classic event at La Paloma Country Club last year, Jimenez finished tied for seventh after shooting 9 under par. The 14-time PGA Tour Champions winner won the Hassan II Golf Trophy in Morocco last month.

Stewart Cink

Schwab Cup ranking: 10

The rundown: Cink, who carded a tournament-record 62 in the opening round, had a two-shot lead entering the final round of the Cologuard Classic, but back-to-back bogeys, coupled with Joe Durant’s eagle on the 11th hole, cost him the lead. Durant parred the last seven holes to edge Cink. In the first two PGA Tour Champions events of the 2025 schedule, Cink has two Top 10 finishes.

Ernie Els

Schwab Cup ranking: 1

The rundown: In three PGA Tour Champions events this season, the South African won the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, finished third at Hassan Trophy II and placed 11th at the Chubb Classic. The four-time majors champion has seven wins on PGA Tour Champions.

Bernhard Langer

Schwab Cup ranking: 6

The rundown: The 2020 Cologuard Classic champion ruptured his Achilles tendon last February playing pickleball and missed the Cologuard Classic last year. The 67-year-old Langer, who currently owns the record for the most PGA Tour Champions wins (47), is the oldest player to win a PGA Tour Champions event. Langer won the Charles Schwab Cup Open in Phoenix, his first victory since suffering an Achilles injury.

Justin Leonard

Schwab Cup ranking: 3

The rundown: Leonard is in Tucson after winning the Chubb Classic in Florida last month — the first PGA Tour Champions win of his career. Leonard, a Dallas native, shot 15 under par for the three-day tournament. Leonard is a combined 28 under par in three PGA Tour Champions events this season.

Chip shots

– Steve Stricker, the 2018 Cologuard Classic champion, withdrew and isn’t playing this weekend.

– Former Arizona Wildcat Ted Purdy and Sabino High School graduate Willie Wood tee off together on Hole 1 at 12:22 p.m. on Friday.

– The Cologuard Classic will have “Birdies for Survivors� on the 15th hole. For every birdie tallied from Friday through Sunday, $1,500 will be donated for colorectal cancer survivors to attend the Cologuard Classic next year. The pot will be capped at $50,000.