Harrington highlights new suicide initiative

Everyone has an opinion on his hair. "Suits him"; "Don't like it". Here's news for you, Padraig Harrington intends to keep the highlights. "I've always struggled to find time to get a hair cut because I keep myself too busy, I practise too much . . . so if I've to fix my hair before and after the round, then it'll keep me away from golf.

It's like going to the gym, it'll keep me away from practising."

So, he's got the look and he's going to keep it! And, for good measure, he also intends to keep on waggling, even though his coach Bob Torrance disapproves.

Anyway, it was typical of Harrington to strike some light notes on an occasion when he was lending his support to a very serious issue, that of suicide in Ireland. Yesterday, Harrington, the world's number 10 ranked golfer, urged clubs to support the 3Ts - Turning The Tide of Suicide - charity, which was founded to raise awareness and funding to lower suicide rates in the country. As part of this initiative, a club tournament will be played in golf clubs nationwide in the coming months, which offers the prize of a trip to Cape Town for the winning team.

Harrington - fresh from his family holiday in the Bahamas - was keen to emphasise the importance of clubs helping this initiative; but, typically, he was also chomping at the bit to get back out playing tournament golf.

Although he won the Hong Kong Open in early December, the first counting event on the 2004 European Tour, the Dubliner has lost ground on his rivals in recent weeks after opting stay away from tournaments in South Africa, the Far East and Australia.

Still, patience is a virtue and Harrington will return to competitive action in two weeks in the Malaysian Open, the start of a three-week stint that will also take in the Accenture world matchplay in California and the Dubai Desert Classic.

After that, he will have a two-week break before playing three tournaments in succession in the United States, starting with the Players Championship, the BellSouth and, then, the US Masters.

When Harrington does return to tournament golf, though, it will be with a slight difference to last year's swing. Over the winter, he has worked hard with his coach and has reverted back to a fade.

"I've developed my swing, not changed it," insisted Harrington. "I'm going from hitting the ball right-to-left to hitting it left-to-right. This is going back to what is natural to me and, I must say, I like to see the ball dropping off to the right. It's more of a development in my swing than a change, it's how things progress and, because I have worked on my fitness, hopefully I won't lose too much distance."

Indeed, there is an edge of excitement to Harrington as he contemplates a new year on the course; and that has something to do with it being a Ryder Cup year. "It's not like a shadow over me, but it's there all the same. I don't think any golfer can take getting into the Ryder Cup team for granted. Obviously, I'd have high expectations but the job has to be done. You can't just walk in. If I didn't get into the team, I wouldn't expect to be picked because it would mean that I wasn't on form.

"The new system makes things reasonably tight, with five players coming off each table, but I like it. It gives a fair chance to people who aren't playing just in Europe. And I am the leading European player in the world rankings, so it must mean the system does suit me."

Harrington has pencilled in 28 tournaments around the globe for this season, including 12 that count on the US Tour (although two of them, the British Open at Troon and the AmEx at Mount Juliet, are in Europe).

"I was actually very happy at the end of last year, when things were all weighed up. The perception out there was, yes, 'you've had an average year'. But when I sat back, I was third in the Order of Merit, won a couple of times, did this and did that. And I thought, 'Wow! I've come a long way if that is average'. The year before was a great year and it probably came out of step . . . I jumped up two places and came back down one last year, but it still left me one ahead of where I was three years ago. The thing is I had a lot more left in the tank last year, and so it gives me more confidence for this season."

The cobwebs have been dusted off, and now Harrington is anxious to hit the ground running in Malaysia - but yesterday was about the message he delivered: for clubs to row in behind the 3Ts competition.