A GOLFER on tour ticks off different boxes as he goes along. One of them, not usually early on in any player’s career, is how well he defends a title. In Graeme McDowell’s case, given that he won the Scandinavian Masters back in 2002 when he was hardly a wet day as a professional, this week’s defence of the Ballantines championship – one of two successes he enjoyed last year – will provide yet further evidence of how much he has progressed.

For sure, McDowell – ranked 47th in the latest world rankings – has progressed as a player since that maiden tour win in Sweden all of seven years ago in what was just his fourth event on tour.

Now, the 29-year-old Ulsterman, a hardened and better all-round player, will seek to do what the really great players do: defend a title.

“Defending a title is always pretty special. I haven’t had the chance to do it too often, but I’m looking forward to doing it on this golf course,” admitted McDowell.

He hasn’t exactly shot the lights out in his two previous defences: a year after his win in Sweden, he returned to the scene of triumph and finished tied-53rd. Then, after winning the Italian Open in 2004, he returned the following year and failed to survive the midway cut.

There’s a difference this time, however. He is, quite simply, a better player now than he was then. In winning the Ballantines championship and the Scottish Open last season, and playing on Europe’s Ryder Cup team in Valhalla, McDowell moved up a number of levels.

And, following on from the US Masters where he finished as the leading European, his title defence in South Korea will enable him to kick on from Augusta in a quest to move up the world rankings.

McDowell heads an Irish contingent in the Ballantines that also features Paul McGinley, Gareth Maybin, Damien McGrane, Peter Lawrie and Jonathan Caldwell.

The €2.1 million tournament has attracted a strong field, with world number nine Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Ernie Els and American Fred Couples making debut appearances.

“I’m a little biased as I won last year, but I love the course,” said McDowell, of a course – measuring 7,345 yards – that is the first Korean layout named in the World’s 100 Best Courses by Golf Digest in the United States.

What is different this year is the timing of the tournament, six weeks later in the calendar than when McDowell triumphed.

“The rough will be more severe,” warned tournament director David Williams. “It’ll be more of a challenge and far more important to hit fairways off the tee. Good course strategy will be needed.”

McDowell has mapped out a schedule this season aimed at peaking for the big tournaments. While many players on the European Tour are well into double figures – with McGrane, Louis Oosthuizen, Pelle Edberg and Anton Haig with 12 tournaments already played – in appearances, McDowell has played just six events on the European circuit this season and lies 34th on the money list with €255,514. His upcoming schedule includes the Players, the Irish Open and the BMW PGA at Wentworth.

Although there are six Irish players in the field, the other five card-carrying Irishmen are starting or finishing short breaks from tournament play.

Pádraig Harrington, who has been working on his chipping at his holiday home in North Carolina, plans to return to action at next week’s Quail Hollow Championship before playing the following week’s Players championship in Sawgrass and, then, the 3 Irish Open at Baltray. Harrington has dropped one place – to sixth – in the latest world rankings, with Kenny Perry leapfrogging the Irishman. Harrington, incidentally, is only .01 of a point ahead of seventh-placed Paul Casey.

Michael Hoey, winner of the Portuguese Open on his last outing, is on holidays and, like Gary Murphy, intends resuming tournament play in next week’s Spanish Open while Rory McIlroy, who claimed to be “flat” after finishing a three-week stint in the United States at the Heritage Classic, is next due out in a fortnight’s time at The Players.

Darren Clarke, who hasn’t played since missing the cut in the Houston Open in his last-ditch attempt to get into the Masters, is scheduled to resume tournament play at the Crowns tournament in Japan next week in his build-up to the Irish Open.

Meanwhile, Australian Scott Strange’s victory in the China Open on Sunday has earned him the first invite to the limited 16-man field for the Volvo World Matchplay Championship which has moved from its traditional home in Wentworth to the south of Spain. The event will be played on October 29th-November 1st with a new soccer-style “Champions League” format of group round-robin matches to determine who progresses to the knockout phase. The remaining 15 places will be determined off the Race to Dubai money list and the world rankings.

Strange’s win in China – where he succeeded McGrane as champion – moved the Aussie to 89th in the latest world rankings, an improvement of 34 places.