A diamond incentive

Reality and fantasy. Padraig Harrington wants a "low maintenance" golf swing; his wife, Caroline, wants a £100,000 diamond, the risk and reward prize on offer to the first professional in the European Open to reach a cumulative total of 14-under-par for the par fives during the championship.

So, only half-jokingly, the Dubliner - after shooting a second round 67 that moved him up the field into tied-fifth place on seven-under-par 137 - put himself into a hypothetical position come the 72nd hole.

"If you see me with about 260 yards to the pin, I'll probably hit driver into it on the last day. Appleby's have put up a big diamond and I'm under instructions to go for it. It's hard to do, but we'll be trying."

Such joviality at the mid-way stage of the tournament was an indication of how good the player's mindset is, rather unlike previous years when Irish players competing in European Tour events in their homeland acted as if the weight of the world was on their shoulders.

And with a Robbie Williams concert pencilled into the diary for last night - "I managed to wangle a couple of tickets," he said - there was much to confirm the player's assertion that he was "having a ball", adding: "This past two weeks have been like a holiday."

Of more serious concern to Harrington this past week, however, has been his swing. He and his coach, Bob Torrance, are in pursuit of a simple swing that, whenever anything goes wrong, is easily repaired.

"We're trying to get everything working together fluidly, just fine-tuning things at this stage because we are covering things that we have already covered in the past. We are on nothing new and we must be getting closer if my scoring is directly affected now by how I chip and putt," explained Harrington.

Known as the hardest worker on the tour, most likely one of the first to arrive and then the last to leave a practice range on non-tournament days, Harrington can't wait for the time when he can roll up on a Tuesday and spend half-an-hour rather than half-a-day hitting balls.

"I'd rather be the most constructive worker on tour rather than the hardest. There is no point putting in the time unless it is well spent and the whole goal is to have a low maintenance swing. That's it. No wonder Monty has won so many tournaments even though he doesn't practice. He can play week in and week out and he is fresh. Somebody who practices a lot finds it very difficult to do that. They have to tire themselves out.

"Which is why I take a lot of weeks off during the season. One of the reasons I work with Bob is because I have this image in my head that I won't have to practice too much. It is probably an elusive goal, but that is the idea. I will have a swing that, when it breaks down, I will know what is wrong and how to fix it quickly."

For someone who doesn't reward himself materialistically for his wins or good performances, preferring instead to give himself a pat on the back, Harrington's philosophy is one that is at variance with the image of professional golf.

And what would it be like if he ever attains that goal of a low maintenance swing?

"I'd be in utopia . . . it can't get any better than that." Perhaps others would have different interpretations of utopia . . . but a sparkling, polished diamond might provide some consolation for someone close to the golfer. All he needs to do is tag on another eight-under-par on the par fives over the weekend.