Tour News: If those old wives' tales have any veracity, then Padraig Harrington's ears must have been burning as he made the transatlantic journey yesterday to Kiawah Island where, for an eighth consecutive year, he will form part of Ireland's two-man team in the World Cup.

For, in truth, the Irishman was the talk of golf yesterday; unfortunately, though, it was not for all the right reasons.

The golfer's tiff that developed on Sunday between Harrington and two-time US Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal in the final day's singles play at the Seve Trophy in Valencia has no winners.

Olazabal may have been pernickety in repairing whatever blemishes were in the line of his putt and, equally, Harrington may, or may not, regret ever opening his mouth to comment on the Spaniard's diligent greenkeeping.

The pertinent rule of golf is 16-1c, which deals with the "repair of hole plugs, ball marks and other damage." It states: "The player may repair an old hole plug or damage to the putting green caused by the impact of a ball, whether or not the player's ball lies on the putting green. If a ball or ball-marker is accidentally moved in the process of such repair, the ball or ball-maker shall be replaced without penalty. Any other damage to the putting green shall not be repaired if it might assist the player in his play of the hole."

The big question is whether Olazabal was repairing pitch marks or other damage - and, the truth is, we will never know, which leaves a dark cloud of doubt hanging over the actions of both players, which is sad.

Perhaps Olazabal over-reacted by immediately conceding the hole (the third, of a match that was ultimately halved), but that act of concession effectively put Harrington between a rock and a hard place and, as the Dubliner subsequently testified, he had "lost a friend" over what occurred.

The rich irony is that no two players have been better ambassadors for golf, especially European golf, as Harrington and Olazabal .

Harrington has always been an upholder of the rule book, and, mostly, at his own expense.

There are a number of examples: in the International at The Belfry in 2000, he was disqualified shortly before the final round when it was discovered he had not signed his first round card. Harrington put his hands up, made no excuses, accepted the punishment and, ironically, Olazabal was the main beneficiary, going on to win the title.

Then, in the 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach, Harrington called a shot on himself for a "double hit" when playing out of the rough, while, on another occasion in Malaysia, he called a shot on himself because he "believed" the ball had moved at address as he prepared to play an approach shot from the fairway.

In one way, it's a good thing that Harrington can move on to an event - albeit one with a $4 million purse and a limited field - that is not a regular tournament.

The World Cup comprises 24 two-man teams, but, unfortunately, Olazabal is not a member of the Spanish team and, as far as everyone is concerned, the sooner the pair could have sat down to mend bridges the better it would have been for everyone.

For the moment at least, Harrington will have to put the entire issue behind him as he prepares for the World Cup, the final WGC event of the year.

The event marks a return to a happy hunting ground for Harrington and McGinley, who won the competition at Kiawah Island in 1997 and, since then, they have represented Ireland every year.

In all, 10 players who participated in the Seve Trophy are on international duty, but Denmark's Thomas Bjorn has been forced to cry off because of a neck injury, and is replaced by Anders Hansen, while Wales's Phillip Price is a casualty of flu, which means that Ian Woosnam, on holidays in the Caribbean, has been called in as a replacement to partner Bradley Dredge.

Chad Campbell became the first player to make the Tour Championship his first US PGA Tour victory on Sunday when the 29-year-old Texan cruised to a three-shot victory over Charles Howell.

Campbell, who joined the Tour in 2002, finished on 16-under-par 268 after a final-round 68.