Padraig confident of holding his own

IRISH OPEN:THE TASK, as it should be, will be an onerous one. On the eve of the €2.5-million Irish Open at Adare Manor, Pádraig Harrington - the unquestioned favourite and defending champion - related how, having driven into rough at one juncture of the pro-am, he had failed to reach the green, which was less than 60 yards away. He, and everyone else, had been fore-warned.

Yet, as the sun shone and the river Maigue glistened, and the towering cedar - reputed to be the oldest of its kind in these isles - down by the manor provided a powerful presence, there was only the feeling yesterday that this is indeed a little piece of heaven on earth. Could it really have such devilish intent?

What is expected from Harrington, the field's star turn, is a stern defence of a title he won a year ago. In doing so, he ended a long, 25-year drought since the last Irish winner - John O'Leary - and, perhaps more importantly, gave himself the impetus and belief to go on to even greater things later in the summer. The upshot? The Claret Jug, as British Open champion, rests proudly in the Harrington household in the foothills of the Dublin mountains.

Now, 12 months on, Harrington - despite missing the cut in last week's Players championship at Sawgrass - believes he is a better player than he was then.

"I'm a lot better player, but still improving. I understand my own game and where I'm going with it more. I'm definitely a better player, there's no question. I'm a better swinger of the golf club and better mentally. I'm much better able to get my game to a level that I need it to be at, am much more predictable. Every element of my game is better."

The proof, of course, is that Harrington is returning here as a major winner; a year ago, he had yet to achieve that status.

In contrast, however, to times past when major winners were a fixture in this championship, the fact remains the 36-year-old Dubliner is the only major champion in the field.

In acknowledging that many of the modern-day players don't remember the halcyon days of the Irish Open when the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo and Bernhard Langer dominated this event in their prime, Harrington said the tournament "has to go back into the pecking order and build itself up to be a premier event".

Still, this year's field is actually stronger than it was a year ago. On that occasion, only two of the world's top 50 - Harrington and Lee Westwood - played.

This year, Harrington (world-ranked 11th) and Westwood (20th) are back, while the impressive German Martin Kaymer (32nd) and Sweden's Robert Karlsson (43rd) are also here.

A more pertinent indicator of the strength of the field this time around is that no fewer than 12 champions from this season's PGA European Tour are playing, among them four Irishmen - none of them named Harrington - who have either discovered or rediscovered the winning habit.

Those tournament winners this season playing are: Richard Finch (New Zealand Open), John Bickerton (Alfred Dunhill championship), James Kingston (South African Open), Martin Kaymer (Abu Dhabi championship), SSP Chowrasia (Indian Masters), Felipe Aguilar (Indonesia Open), Mark Brown (Johnnie Walker Classic), Graeme McDowell (Ballantines Championship), Alastair Forsyth (Madeira Island Open), Damien McGrane (China Open), Darren Clarke (Asian Open) and Peter Lawrie (Spanish Open).

So, all in all, it is a field that consists of a higher proportion of tournament winners than other so-called regular events.

And, as this year's qualifying campaign moves into the serious end of determining the travelling party for Kentucky in September, there are seven members of Europe's 2006 Ryder Cup winning team here: Harrington, Westwood, Clarke, Colin Montgomerie,Paul McGinley, Robert Karlsson and David Howell. The winner's cheque of €416,660 - and the world-ranking points on offer - would be very much welcomed.

Add in some of the most exciting talents in the game who haven't yet won, among them Rory McIlroy and Oliver Fisher, and the ingredients are there this week for a tournament worthy of the Irish Open's rich heritage.

A year ago, Harrington, burdened like every other Irishman in the field by that statistic that perennially reminded them of the ever-growing gap since O'Leary's win in 1982, finally got the monkey off his back. In doing so, he also relieved all the other Irish players of that pressure . . . and Harrington doesn't believe that the missed cut of last week, at the Players in Sawgrass, is anything to be concerned about.

He's proved in the past he can bounce back from a missed cut and go out and win the next week.

Is that asking too much this time? Not only to return from a missed cut, but also to defend a title nobody has retained since Colin Montgomerie in 1997?

"Normally, when you defend a tournament, there's a certain amount of extra pressure, a little more stress . . . but, as an Irishman, there can't get any more at the Irish Open.

"It's not that the pressure is any greater, it's just there for a longer period of time."

As he proved a year ago, when he came in as the best-ranked player in the field, Harrington can rise to such pressures. Déjà vu?

RTE 1: 10.0-1.0pm; 3.30-6.0pm.

Sky Sp 2: 10.0-1.0pm; 3.0-6.0pm.