IT SEEMS that Padraig Harrington cannot help surpassing his expectations these days. Before departing yesterday for the Spanish Open in Madrid, he calculated that he had been re-ranked from 16th up to fourth in category 12 on the European Tour: he is, in fact, up to third, largely due to the remarkable achievement of making eight successive cuts.
The re-ranking was done after the Italian Open last weekend in Bergamo where a third successive top-10 finish brought Harrington's earnings up to Pounds 40,145. This prompted some observers to suggest that he has virtually secured his player's card for next season, but he scorns such complacent thoughts.
"Sure, I have surpassed my expectations so far on the Tour, but I'm taking nothing for granted," he said. "I reckon I will need another seven or eight thousand pounds and that could prove to be an elusive target if I started missing cuts. I certainly won't sleep easily until I've passed the Pounds 50,000 mark."
Though confident of his own ability, Harrington is maintaining an eminently sensible approach to his first season on Tour. Typical of his pragmatism was the decision to take on the veteran John O'Reilly as his caddie, on the basis that he wanted somebody who knew the ropes.
"Our trial period ended on Monday and we've decided to stay together," he said. "I'm certainly happy with him and I hope the feeling if mutual. The relationship has worked out exactly as I had hoped insofar as John's experience has been terrific."
Harrington went on: "I've been scoring well, despite making a lot of mistakes but then I wasn't expecting things to go smoothly after changing my swing at the start of the year. It was essentially a matter of timing, of keeping myself behind the ball so that I could hit draw shots rather than fades.
"A big bonus has been an extra 20 to 30 yards off the tee.
I wouldn't consider myself to be a long hitter but I'm long enough. For instance, I would never have been able to get the ball around the Royal Links in Agadir in the Moroccan Open, the way I was swinging 12 months ago.
As can be seen from this table, his worst round was a closing 7:7 in Madeira "a lot better than it looked, given the terrible conditions. By his own estimation, his best effort was a second round of 69 in the rain- curtailed Open Catalonia, where conditions were also extremely demanding.
Other highly significant efforts were a finish of eagle, par, par, birdie to make the top-10 in the Turespana Masters at El Saler and birdies at the 71st and 72nd in Bergamo last Sunday. And he wasn't concerned about slipping out of contention in the closing round of the Cannes Open. "The way I was swinging there, I got as much out of Cannes as I possibly could," he said.
Whatever his disappointments in amateur ranks, Harrington was always a very impressive putter, which allowed him to carry a so-called money game into paid ranks. As a qualified accountant, he has a feeling for figures and it is not surprising to learn that he has been keeping comprehensive statistics on his tournament performances.
"My putting has been a strength, with an average of 31 putts per round," he said. "I have also been hitting an average of 14 greens in regulation. That, and the fact that my concentration has been really good, accounts for much of my good scoring." Indeed it would. And to emphasise the point, ho calculates that he has carded 106 birdies and three eagles in 30 rounds.
Meanwhile, the re-ranking situation means that even without a high finish in Madrid, he is on the borderline for entry into the lucrative Benson and Hedges International at The Oxfordshire next week. A top-10 finish in the Spanish Open would guarantee his place in the field but he knows he has no chance of making the Volvo PGA Championship a week later.
"If I get into the Benson and Hedges, I would have played five weeks in a row, so I would be in need of a rest he said. "Meanwhile, the important thing is that I try to learn a little more every week. All of this is totally new to me and I have to figure my way around problems."
So far, the 24-year-old has been doing rather well for himself. He will be joined at Club de Campo this week by the newly-crowned Smurfit Irish Professional champion, Des Smyth, along with Eamonn Darcy, Eoghan O'Connell, Darren Clarke, John McHenry, Francis Howley, David Higgins and Jimmy Heggarty.
The field is headed by Colin Montgomerie who is making only his second appearance of the season in Europe, having won the Dubai Desert Classic in March. The holder, Seve Ballesteros, is also in action.
