Padraig Harrington is hoping his quest for improvement can pay dividends at the US Open next month. The three-time major winner is in Florida for this week’s Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass and returns home to Ireland next week for the Irish Open at Baltray, continuing his build-up for June’s US Open at Bethpage Black in New York.

Yet he admitted today that his current lack of success was a result of him trying to improve on last year’s double major success rather than having drifted into a slump.

The 2008 Open and US PGA champion missed the cut at last week’s Quail Hollow Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, the third time in nine events Stateside this year he has failed to reach the weekend’s play.

The Irishman, though, is convinced he has to go one step back to go two steps forward with his game.

“Hopefully after this run going into the US Open, hopefully I’ll be able to get back to working on my strengths and be ready to go for the US Open,” Harrington said.

“But I’m just of the mindset that I’m always, always trying to change things and always trying to improve, I’m never trying to stay the same. And if you do try to improve, oftentimes you have to step back for a while. So that’s where it’s all coming from.”

“Results haven’t been exactly what I wanted so far this year,” he admitted. “But a lot of that comes down to the fact I’ve done this many times throughout my career.

“If you look back, when you win something, especially when you have success, I see that as a reason to stop and start changing things to get better. I’m not trying to play as well as I played last year to win the two majors. I’m trying to play better than that.”

Harrington said he was attempting to improve his swing, adding: “I’m just working away, getting very bogged down in the technique and being concerned about that and trying to work through things.

“When you’re doing that you lose the art of scoring a bit.

“Barring results, I’m fully convinced that I’m going on the right track, and everything is on track and going well.

“I think I’m going to be physically better as a player and then I have to put my strengths, which are the mental side of the game, on top of that, and overall I should be a better player going forward.

“But it takes a little bit of time. I’m not expecting, I’m not writing off this year or anything like that. I’m still very hopeful that I’ll be in top form for the US Open.”