EUROPEAN TOUR: As Padraig Harrington flew out yesterday to Singapore for a big-money "skins" match, and the start of a global odyssey that will also see him take in tournaments in Taiwan, South Africa, the US and Mexico in the next five weeks, the Irishman insisted he would remain a so-called "world player" next year, and he would not be drawn to the megabucks US Tour.
The 31-year-old Dubliner - who has finished second in the European Tour Order of Merit for the past two seasons - claimed the only change he would make next year would be to drop the Volvo PGA Championship (a decision unlikely to please the powers-that-be in Europe) from his schedule and possibly add another three tournaments around the time of the majors in America.
"In an ideal world," he said, "I would love to go to the United States and play 15 events and have my card over there. But I've had a look at my schedule and, to be honest, I cannot find the time to do that. It just isn't feasible for me to play so much in America. It is extremely difficult to find the time to fit in tournaments and all that I might do is to play two tournaments around the majors, instead of one, so that will give me an extra three events. But that is all and, remember, I still have to get invites to play over there."
Given his world ranking, getting such invites shouldn't prove difficult. However, his dislike for the Volvo PGA at Wentworth - one of the European Tour's flagship tournaments - has led him to erase it from his itinerary. It is not as simple as that, though. For Harrington to play on the US Tour, he requires releases from the European Tour . . . and it could yet be that some pressure will be applied on him to change his mind and play in the Volvo PGA.
After completing his European Tour season in the Volvo Masters at Valderrama, Harrington was adamant he would not play Wentworth in May. "I'm not playing, I am going to have a week off. Look at my record there (he hasn't had a top-10 in seven starts and missed the cut this season). This year I was four-over for two rounds and was lucky I didn't have to play another two. Anders Hansen was 19-under. If that had been my first ever tour event I'd have said, 'This is not for me, I am not good enough.' I'd have given up the game. The PGA is a great event but there is no point in going to a course where I struggle at that time of year."
The immediate future for Harrington basically involves him cashing in on his new status as a player firmly established in the world's top-10. This week's skins match in Singapore also involves Retief Goosen, Sergio Garcia and Vijay Singh. Then it is on to the Asian Open in Taiwan - the first event of the 2003 European Tour - followed by the invitational Million Dollar tournament in Sun City, then the elite field Williams World Challenge - organised by Tiger Woods - in the US, and finally the World Cup of Golf where he teams up with Paul McGinley. After that manic schedule, Harrington intends to take a nine-week break.
When and where he restarts his playing schedule has yet to be finalised. He is in two minds as to whether he will play in the world matchplay in La Costa. If he does, then he will probably spend some time in the US before playing in the Players' Championship. If he doesn't play La Costa, then Dubai will likely form part of his schedule. Harrington insisted, however, he would remain a world player, competing around the globe, despite the greater world ranking points on offer in the US.
Describing this past season, in which he had three top-10 finishes in the majors, as "a good, solid year", Harrington added: "I'm happy because I know I can improve from where I am at. I'm progressing and I haven't stopped progressing. I feel there is better things to come."
Indeed, a look at his Order of Merit positions since turning professional, apart from one glitch, confirm his progress: 1996 (11th), 1997 (8th), 1998 (29th), 1999 (7th), 2000 (7th), 2001 (2nd), 2002 (2nd).
While Harrington has been upwardly mobile, Darren Clarke has slipped into a decline that was arrested in some measure in Valderrama, where he secured his first top-10 finish on the European Tour since his win in the English Open in June. His only other top-10 finish came in the Canadian Championship. Clarke plays in the Phoenix Dunlop championship in Japan next week and then competes in the Million Dollar in Sun City.
For Graeme McDowell, who finished 56th in his first season on the tour, his season will extend into the next two weeks when he competes in Japan - in the Phoenix Dunlop and Casio tournaments - and he will likely restart with a number of invites in America next season, before rejoining the European Tour. Paul McGinley is playing in Taiwan and Hong Kong before teaming up with Harrington for the World Cup.
• ANNIKA SORENSTAM became the first player for 32 years to win 10 LPGA events in one season when she won the Mizuno Classic on Sunday. If the Swede manages to win the season-ending Tour Championship in Florida in a fortnight, it will be her 13th victory worldwide this year and, in her mind, would equal Mickey Wright's all-time LPGA record. Wright won 13 times on the LPGA Tour in 1963.
