PADRAIG HARRINGTON says son Patrick will always be remembered as the kid who kept ladybirds in the Claret Jug.
And Patrick, now a strapping teenager, could not be more happy about it!
Far from being embarrassed by the memory, Patrick embraces it and even signs autographs alongside his dad when people ask if he is THAT youngster.
Padraig grinned: When we played in the Father and Son Challenge in Florida a few months ago, there were loads of people pointing to Paddy and whispering, Is that the ladybird boy? Hes famous for it, even in America!
We just smiled at it each other, because Paddy gets it all the time. He loves it, even though hes as tall as me now actually probably a bit taller if Im honest.
It was such a positive event, a family togetherness kind of thing, and it is one of those warm and wonderful memories we will all cherish for the rest of our lives.
Patrick was just three when his father won the first of his back-to-back Opens at Carnoustie in 2007 and the image of him running on to the 18th green to embrace his dad melted millions of hearts.
He was clutching a stuffed ladybird toy at the presentation ceremony and the first thing he said to his father when he showed him the Claret Jug was: Can we keep ladybirds in it?
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Sure enough, instead of becoming a vessel for a weird and wonderful cocktail of drinks, the most famous trophy in golf became home to a ladybird colony.
Rory McIlroy was part of the 2007 presentation ceremony, collecting the Silver Medal as leading amateur while Harrington took the top prize following his play-off triumph over Sergio Garcia.
Phil Mickelson hits incredible flop shot over mans head from point blank rangeAnd he revealed spotting the Harringtons together yesterday brought back plenty of memories.
McIlroy said: I saw Paddy walking with Padraig hes massive now. Its so funny thinking back on that day because there were a few mixed emotions.
Sergio was one of my favourite players growing up and he hadnt won a Major at that point.
Obviously Padraig is from back home. I honestly didnt know who I wanted to win I think I was OK with either winning. It was tough the way Sergio lost.
I remember just after turning pro I went to Padraigs house and he had the Claret Jug sitting on the kitchen table with the ladybirds coming out of it.
When Harrington successfully defended the trophy at Birkdale 12 months later, he had a ladybird head cover on his driver. He has used one ever since.
Patrick, 14, also had one on his set of clubs at the Father and Son Challenge. But that was not the only thing to make him smile.
He said: After asking about the ladybirds, the next thing people would ask me was what handicap I was playing off.
You should see the look on their faces when I tell them its 27. Its priceless.
My real passion is rugby but the opportunity to play alongside my dad was too good to miss.
It was actually Patricks idea for the Harringtons to pair up at the Father and Son event, which is restricted to Major champions and their offspring double Masters winner Bernhard Langer usually teams up with his daughter.
One of Patricks friends originally went along as a spectator and asked why he was not in the field with his dad.
He asked the same question and a few weeks later he was being kitted out with an almost identical set of clubs to the ones his father uses.
Golf star Tiger Woods appears to mock rivals when he talks about opponents being afraid of himPadraig added: Even though hes a high handicapper, Paddy was very motivated to compete and he did pretty well. I have to admit there was a fair bit of panic in the weeks leading up just to get him ready.
I was a five handicapper at his age and winning tournaments but my progress was steady rather than spectacular.
We had a lot of fun out there and it was a bit surreal to be stood near the tee, signing autographs together.
You could see its something Paddy needs to get better at, like his golf, because he tended to need something to lean on before he could sign properly!
On a serious note, we both realise it is always going to be very difficult for a son to follow in his fathers footsteps in the same sport.
Paddy accepts that, but even as a social golfer people are probably going to see the name and turn up on the tee out of curiosity to see how he hits the ball.
Its good that hes used to the attention, starting with the ladybirds and now that he is playing a bit more golf.
But playing the game for a living is not something he would ever consider.