Harrington learns a hard lesson

Padraig Harrington couldn't quite put his finger on why a weekend which had promised so much should turn into a learning exercise. From being in the thick of the hunt going into the final two rounds, the Dubliner slipped back to finish in tied-17th, and, by the time he holed out for a 73 for 277, seven under par, the speed with which he departed wasn't simply because he was rushing to catch a flight to Scotland for this week's Dunhill Links.

"I just wasn't with it," confessed Harrington, who could do little right during his final round and couldn't wait to get off the course. "You know, I could feel this coming on in the second round on Friday, and I suffered big time over the weekend.

"I didn't really prepare right this week and it caught up with me. Looking back now, it's a lesson to me. It shows what you have to do in a tournament week, it shows how disciplined you have to be."

Harrington attributed the deterioration to working on his swing on the eve of the tournament. The trouble was, he wasn't happy to leave it at that. "I kept doing it during the week, and that just kills you. You can't worry about how you're swinging it, and it caught up with me. Everything just went away from me today and it is a very nice reminder of the need to be disciplined. You've got to be doing your job the right way, and not try to get by on a wing and a prayer."

Harrington battled hard over the front nine yesterday, turning in 34 to still be in with a chance of a top-five finish. However, just before the first stoppage in play due to the threat of lightning, Harrington suffered his first bogey, on the 11th. When he resumed on the 12th, it was with another bogey. Following the next weather suspension, Harrington returned only to bogey the 16th and failed to birdie either of the par fives. It wasn't a day to remember.

It would seem his quest for the European Tour Order of Merit is virtually at an end, although he refused to throw in the towel. "No, not yet," he insisted when asked if it was out of his reach. "I've still got two more tournaments to go (the Dunhill Links and the Volvo Masters). You know, I am happy with how I'm swinging the club. I just have to get my head into place."