Harrington begins his quest for big bucks

Padraig Harrington will resume his tournament schedule this week on the US PGA Tour in the Barclays Championship at Westchester County Club in New York. It marks the first event in the FedExCup, a four-tournament run that culminates in the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.

The top 144 players after last week's Wyndham Championship will tee it up after Westchester and that number will be reduced to 120 for the Deutsche Bank Championship, 70 for the BMW Championship and finally the top 30 will compete at the Tour Championship and the $10 million bonus on offer for the FewExCup champion.

In total there will be $35 million in bonus money paid out at the conclusion of the four-tournament swing underlining just how potentially lucrative the next month's golf in America will be. The top 144 players carry forward a certain number of points with Tiger Woods - he's not playing this week - leading the way on 100,000.

Harrington is in 21st place on the FedExCup standings, a reflection on how golfers have fared this season. They earn more points depending on how they do in each of the next four weeks, and the most points wins.

The absence of Woods is a major blow but after initially indicating he would play in the aftermath of winning the US PGA Championship, his second tournament victory in succession, he had a change of heart. He doesn't like playing six weeks out of seven and is a stickler for keeping to his carefully managed schedule.

Westchester County Club wouldn't hold too many fond memories for him as a professional as his best finish there is 13th. The complexity in working out the standings in the FedExCup over the next few weeks is likely to be a task well beyond those who tee it up judging by the players' reaction. Former US Ryder Cup captain Tom Lehman admitted: "I tell you, I was an accounting major in college and I still don't know what it means."

He isn't alone judging by Phil Mickelson's reaction. "No, I don't understand how it all works. But it's the first year and you're never going to have it perfect the first year. It's kind of an evolutionary thing. I'm excited to play the next few weeks because I haven't been able to really compete much the last three months."

Harrington will be the only Irish golfer competing as both Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley failed to qualify and are enjoying a two-week time out from competitive fare. The European Tour heads for the KLM Open at the Kennemer Golf and Country Club in Holland, with the Irish representation comprising of Damien McGrane, Gary Murphy and David Higgins.

Interestingly the venue itself witnessed the longest ever play-off on the European Tour when Jose Maria Olazabal claimed victory at the ninth extra hole, beating Roger Chapman and Ronan Rafferty in 1989. The Englishman bogeyed the first hole and was eliminated.

Olazabal and Rafferty went a further eight holes, before the Spaniard took the title with a double-bogey six. However, the Irishman avenged the defeat when holing a five-foot putt to win the Volvo Masters and pip Olazabal in the race to win the European Tour Order of Merit.

This week there will be another addendum to notable moments on tour when Bernhard Langer, three times a winner of this event, will be joined in the field by his son, Stefan, who will be participating in his first tournament, thereby becoming the first father/son combination to play in the same event on European soil since Craig and Kevin Stadler at the 2002 Omega European Masters.

Colm Moriarty and Michael Hoey were both offered places in the KLM Open field but declined, albeit for different reasons. Moriarty has been playing for the past six weeks and on the strength of yet another superb performance last weekend in finishing tied fourth in Switzerland in the Rolex tournament on the Challenge Tour, he decided that a week's rest was important.

The Athlone golfer has jumped to 23rd in the Challenge Tour Order of Merit with earnings of €35,700 from just seven tournaments. The top 20 at the end of the season earn a full card on the European Tour and that's his priority.

He admitted: "I could have gone to Holland this week but it was more important for me to look at my playing schedule for the remainder of the season. My main focus is the Challenge Tour and so I thought it would be much better for me to take a week's break as I'm going to play four tournaments in a row starting next week.

"I'll probably take another week off then and play the final four events. I'm very happy with my form and there is a temptation to keep playing when you're doing well but you have to be disciplined. There's no point in risking being mentally and physically drained at a point in the season when you have to be at your best."

Having already won a Challenge Tour event in Wales - he also won on the EuroPro tour - 2007 is threatening to be every bit as enjoyable as 2006 was disappointing. Moriarty, though, learned a great deal about himself in adversity and doesn't bother to sugar coat his reflections.

"It was probably the kick up the backside that I needed. I had done okay in my first few seasons, making progress but last year I was crap and I needed to change a lot of things. He returned to his one-time coach Brendan MacDaid, dug out the belly putter, worked hard on his fitness and resolved to be professional in every aspect of his preparation on and off the golf course.

It's a course of action that has brought great rewards. "I have put myself in a position to challenge for a card but I'll need to keep playing to a high level and possibly win another tournament or two. I certainly feel that I am capable of that and hopefully will have another eight tournaments to reinforce that statement."

Hoey heads to the Postbank tournament in Germany this week, hoping to improve upon his 39th place in the Order of Merit and will be joined in the field by Michael McGeady and Noel Fox.