TOUR SCENE NEWS ROUND-UP:THE SELF-PROFESSED tinkerer has stopped tinkering with his swing, and that's from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

For years, Pádraig Harrington envied “the low maintenance” swing long-time European kingpin Colin Montgomerie took to the golf course each given week, and now the Dubliner – who reconstructed his swing after winning his third major at the US PGA in 2008 – believes he has finally reached a similar position where he can arrive at a tournament ready to go.

Harrington resumes tournament action at this week’s Quail Hollow Championship on the US PGA Tour, an event which has attracted three of the world’s top-four ranked players, including number one Tiger Woods and recently crowned US Masters champion Phil Mickelson. And, having missed the cut at Augusta, Harrington – who has worked with coach Bob Torrance on three occasions in the interim – is ready to breathe new life into his season.

“I’ve reached the stage where I am turning up to tournaments knowing there is no more work needed (on the swing). I’ve always wanted a swing that was low maintenance like Colin Montgomerie. I’ve always admired that about Monty and it’s something I’ve wanted to have.”

Despite winning three majors in a 14-months period in 2007 and 2008 – two British Opens and the US PGA – Harrington’s quest to continue working on his swing led him to undergo further changes which he now feels have fully knitted in. Of that desire to pursue change, he once remarked: “My ultimate goal is to have a low-maintenance method, one that allows me to show up at an event and not have to practise as much. I want to get to the point where I know what swing I have week-to-week and not have to search for it.”

To achieve that, Harrington and Torrance have worked with an emphasis on the body creating leverage in the swing. “I don’t want my hands doing anything more than they have to do. I know that the more my body works to create leverage, the better the strike is likely to be,” he said.

This week’s big event at Quail Hollow offers Harrington an opportunity to put his theory to the test, as he restarts his season following on from that disappointing missed cut at Augusta.

Harrington is joined in the field in Charlotte, North Carolina, by Rory McIlroy, who has used his time at home to recharge the batteries after initially contemplating taking a longer break following his missed cut at the Masters.

Harrington and McIlroy move on from this week’s big stop on the PGA Tour to next week’s flagship event, the Players Championship at Sawgrass. Graeme McDowell has also earned his place in the field for the Players after remaining in the world’s Top-50 – in 49th position – following the Ballantines championship in South Korea.

Harrington spent last week working with Torrance, fulfilling some corporate engagements for his sponsor Wilson at Wentworth estate – where the Dubliner tested the new greens and announced he would be resuming playing in the upcoming BMW PGA Championship after missing the European Tour’s flagship event for the past two years – and he also found time to help launch the run-up to the JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am which takes place at Adare Manor on July 5th-6th.

The mid-summer charity tournament may not count on the PGA Tour or the European Tour or towards garnering Ryder Cup points, but it has a very fond place in Harrington’s heart. As he observed, “Why do Tiger, Ernie and all the rest come every five years? Well, a huge amount is due to JP. There is a personal relationship JP has built up over the years with a huge number of players, they are very comfortable in his company . . . and the golfers like the fact that they can give back and be involved, for their own ego, in an event that has raised more than €57 million for charity over four tournaments (since 1990).”

While Harrington and McIlroy will seek to reclaim some form in North Carolina, Darren Clarke resumes tournament play in the Spanish Open at Seville after a three-week break from life on tour. Clarke is joined in the Irish contingent in Spain by former champion Peter Lawrie, Shane Lowry, Damien McGrane, Michael Hoey, Gary Murphy and Simon Thornton.