Harrington exhibits understanding of nuance

World Golf Championship: Padraig Harrington likes challenging people's perceptions, enjoys taking a stance on an issue and doesn't shy away from adopting non-populist views.

His declaration therefore that "the Ryder Cup is only an exhibition", accompanied by a deadpan expression, enlivened what has been a muted preamble to this WGC event.

The world ranked number eight golfer wasn't trying to demean the Ryder Cup; rather, he was adopting a different interpretation of the word exhibition. The connotation for most would be a free-wheeling, pressure-free scoot around the golf course, where the outcome doesn't matter.

Harrington suggested: "At the end of the day the Ryder Cup is only an exhibition. It was for its first 60 years. It's only in the last 10 years that it has changed a little bit. I'm sure between the players it's an exhibition. It's the highest exhibition of our sport. It showcases golf to non-golfers.

"The amount of people who have come up to me in the last week and a half who watched the Ryder Cup, people who have no interest in golf, were aware of the Ryder Cup. It's the best exhibition of our sport.

"Realistically, it's as good a showcase of golf as there can be."

When asked whether "showcase" would have offered a more appropriate description of Ryder Cup fare, Harrington conceded: "Well, we all have pride. At the end of the day it's a very sporting, friendly match. I suppose we have different definitions of exhibitions. If I play an exhibition I'm going to give 100 per cent anyway.

"But that's what it is. It's showcasing our sport. That's why we really do it. Every two years it highlights golf as probably - I'd like to say the best sport in the world - but events like that make it so."

The Dubliner, although a non-drinker, didn't shirk the post-Oakland Hills celebration at Dickie O'Dowd's Irish pub in Birmingham, a suburb of Detroit, where he was joined by his second cousin, the Detroit Lions quarterback Joey Harrington. While he enjoyed the craic, he was also amused by some post-match revelations on the internet, suggestions as to how the Americans could fare better in 2006 at the K Club.

"It was about 10 things that (they) need to change, like the US need to have Fiji and annex South Africa and things like that; Europe shouldn't be (allowed to have) any players educated in the United States or those married to a US woman; or a European living in the States can't play. I think they wanted to ban anybody with dyed hair (from playing for Europe)."

The Ryder Cup hangover seems to have permeated the AmEx tournament, and not just the media sound bites. Rather than igniting the tournament, it seems to have cast a pall that will only lift when the action returns to the golf course today.

Personnel defections, the grey, overcast skies and the absence of large galleries dotted around the beautifully manicured parkland course tend to camouflage the fact that 44 of the top 50 players in the world will tee it up this morning.

Any ancillary matters won't dilute Harrington's desire for success this week. Having previously been the touring professional attached to Mount Juliet, his affinity for the golf course is understandable, but he's also keen to win a tournament in Ireland.

He's conscious of the additional pressure brought about by playing on home soil, but not cowed by the expectation of others.

"I was thinking about it the other day, trying to put it in context. Obviously a world event is just below a major. I was trying to figure out would I prefer to win an Irish Open or a world event in Ireland. Obviously I'd like to win a world event because of the stature of the world thing, but I was wondering is there more pressure as regards this or the Irish Open.

"The field is stronger here. My desire to win either of those two would be similar. I'd be putting the same amount of pressure on myself. But there again, I'm living with that and learning to deal with that through experience.

"It's very high on my priorities to win a world event, and it's probably even higher on my priorities to win an event in Ireland. I would have them on an equal footing as regards goals.

" I'd hate to go through my career without winning an Irish Open. Yeah, it would certainly mean a few ticks off the goals if I could win a tournament in Ireland: it would be better to win it here than anywhere else."

There would be a nice symmetry to the former touring professional at Mount Juliet pitching up and securing his maiden Irish victory at the Kilkenny venue.

Given the quality of the field, it would have to be some exhibition of golf.