AT the start of the year, it had the look of just another tournament. But now that his defence of the Spanish Open is only two days away, Padraig Harrington is becoming increasingly aware of its significance in his burgeoning career.
"I must confess that I'm disappointed not to be returning to Club de Campo," he said yesterday of an event that has been switched to La Moraleja, north of Madrid, where it was staged only once before, in 1986. Howard Clark won on that occasion and the course later played host to the World Cup in 1992.
Harrington was in England last week with his coach, Howard Bennett, hoping to recapture the magic which marked his European Tour breakthrough 11 months ago. He also consulted his psychologist, Aidan Moran, over the weekend.
After playing the first 10 tournaments of the year, the Stackstown man feels the better of a two-week break. Yet, by his own admission, he could have used "some competitive play," to get his game to the desired level of sharpness going into this week's assignment.
Regarding the change to the Jack Nicklaus-designed course, he said: "I prefer the old-style layouts. For instance, the smaller greens at Club de Campo are better suited to my game. If you miss a green there you're faced with a very difficult chip and I believe those short sort of conditions give me an edge."
He went on: "But I feel good about my prospects - and I'm not talking about any particular targets for the week. My only objective is to play well. Wherever that leaves me in the final shake-up, I'll be happy."
It will be recalled that in a rain-interrupted event last year, Harrington reached 10-under-par to be three strokes clear of the field at the halfway stage. He then played the final 36 holes on the Sunday, increasing his lead to six strokes after 54 holes and eventually finishing four clear of runner-up, Gordon Brand Jnr.
On that fateful Sunday, people arrived at the course asking: "Who is this man Harrington?" And they left later that day with the memory of a smiling, fresh- faced competitor who had struck up an irresistible partnership with his grizzled caddie, John O'Reilly.
"I have never played the course so long," said Seve Ballesteros. In that context, Harrington's long-iron and fairway wood play was exceptional during second and third rounds of 64 and 67 which effectively sealed his victory.
Now he is to face a high-quality field including Greg Norman and Bernhard Langer, apart from Irish colleagues such as Darren Clarke, who returns to European action this week. "I've already been in the same field as Norman in Dubai and in last year's British Open," he added.
"At this stage, there are only a few players I'm particularly keen to actually play with and Ollie (Jose-Maria Olazabal) would be top of that list. I have always admired him greatly and it would be special to see him in action up close."
Harrington and Clarke will be joined at La Moraleja by Ronan Rafferty, Paul McGinley, Des Smyth, Eamonn Darcy, Raymond Burns and David Higgins.
Meanwhile, Harrington watched the US Masters on television last weekend and with typical confidence, he was in no way ruffled by the superiority of former amateur rival Tiger Woods. "Sure, it was a very impressive performance but the course clearly suited him," he said. "When I look at a player like him, I simply feel the need to improve my game, in the same way that I would try and be as good as Norman or (Nick) Faldo."
But surely he could never hope to match the prodigious length of Woods? No," he replied. "But I remember Shinnecock Hills two years ago when Corey Pavin conceded 40 yards to most of the field and still won the US Open. Length is obviously important but on that occasion and earlier at Wentworth (when he won the 1993 World Matchplay), Pavin proved that there are ways of compensating."
Like other Ryder Cup aspirants, Harrington is keenly aware of the importance of upcoming events. For instance in March, the last full month of competition in Europe, tournaments had a cumulative value of £2.08 million whereas in" May the figure goes up to almost £3 million.
Then the real bonanza comes in June, with £4.285 million at stake, including $2.6 million for the US Open at Congressional, where Harrington will be competing for the first time, along with Clarke and Paul McGinley.
Other matters will be on the minds of Murphy's officials, however, after observing the disappointing, recent form of Faldo who is being promoted as the top draw in this year's Irish Open. His failure to complete four rounds in the MCI Classic at Hilton Head last weekend, coming after a disastrous US Masters, means he has missed two successive cuts for the first time since 1994.
Hilton Head proved to be highly productive terrain, however, for Nick Price and Tom Lehman. In an emotional walk up the 18th fairway on his way to victory, Price turned to the television camera and said: "`Squeek', this win is for you. You know how many people are pulling for you and praying for you."
He was addressing his long-time caddie, Jeff "Squeeky" Medlin, who underwent a second operation last Thursday for leukaemia. Victory in the MCI Classic was Price's 15th in the US. On this occasion, a closing birdie gave him a 15-under-par aggregate of 269 for a six-stroke winning margin over Brad Faxon and Jesper Parnevik and a cheque for $270,000.
The other notable happening on Sunday was that Tom Lehman's share of fourth place lifted him to number one in the World Rankings. He is only the second American to gain that distinction, the other being Fred Couples. And indicative of Lehman's meteoric rise over the last six years is that he was ranked 581st in the world in 1991.
