British Open News round-up: The lure is one that goes back to his youth, when he was drawn time and time again to the seaside terrain and crafting shots on the links brought its own satisfaction.

Padraig Harrington was one of the first players to register here at Royal St George's on Sunday and one of the first to sample its hard, fast fairways in a practice round. This is a different type of golf to that which is played for much of the year, and it is what appeals to the Dubliner. "You could play a parkland golf course and not engage your brain for the day," he remarked.

On this course, on any links course, it's about imagination; and it's about luck, maybe a kind bounce of a ball or perhaps the nasty kick into fescue rough.

On the first fairway yesterday, in practice, Sergio Garcia had a mid-iron in his hand to play his approach shot. The ball was below his feet and he proceeded to shank the ball into the rough. What else could he do but laugh? Which is what he did, dropping another ball and playing the shot without so much as a glance towards those in the rough searching for his ball. All negative thoughts were eclipsed, as Garcia - joking with Mike Weir - moved on towards the green. The ball was never found.

That little episode, however, encapsulated both the appeal and the dangers of links golf. Harrington, who finished fifth at Muirfield last year, one shot outside of a play-off, is particularly fond of the course he has discovered at Sandwich. Three weeks ago, he spent two days playing the course and learning its nuances. When he returned on Sunday, the wind had changed direction and he got to see how things can change. Instead of hitting driver, five iron on the 18th as he had on last month's visit, this time it was three iron and wedge.

"That's just two faces of St George's and you can be sure there's more," said Harrington. "It only makes you aware of it, that you can get such a big contrast.

"The more you play, the more you realise what links golf is about. It's got very little to do with what we play as golf now . . . you are not hitting that many fairways and sometimes you are trying to miss greens in the right place.

"It's not target golf and it takes a while to get used to that. There are all sorts of complications with which to contend but the more you play the variations and the contrasts the more you'll be able to handle what's thrown at you in the tournament."

Certainly, Harrington believes he has taken the right route in his preparations. At the US Open, he played regular tour events in the two weeks beforehand and seemed drained when the time came to perform in the major itself, although he did finish tied-10th.

This time round, Harrington took last week off - playing Portmarnock and Portmarnock Links - and he doesn't anticipate any fall-out from his disappointing showing at The K Club. "It was a timely reminder that you've got to focus on the right things," explained Harrington. "It was a nice wake-up call. I was swinging the club well going into the tournament but that doesn't make you play well. Your head has to be sharp, you must have focus."

And there is nothing like links golf to sharpen your focus. "You have a different attitude when you play links golf. The more you play links, the more carefree you get. You can't hit every fairway and every green. You're never counting the fairways and greens you hit. You are chipping a lot more. It's much more how golf should be. It's how I was brought up to play the game. It's a bit hit and miss.

"The way golf is designed now, it's all meant to be fair and consistent, all those things that ensure that the guy who swings the golf club best or strikes it the best that week wins. Yet links has nothing to do with that. It's great if you hit the ball well but it's much more about the guy who has got good imagination and who can handle the good and the bad and can go with that.

"I look forward to playing it," he added, "but it's tough golf to play. Actually, I probably would love to play it all the time. I love stadium golf and that's where my game has gone over the last number of years.

"I've developed a game in which I can hit the ball an awful lot higher and all that but links golf is much more fun. It's important to control your mid-irons, the clubs where you're hitting into greens. I'm pretty good at punching the ball and playing three-quarter shots. The more I play them, the more I know how to pick the right shot and, really, that's the key to playing links golf. It's about being creative and picking the right shot at the right time."

He added: "On a parkland golf course, everybody will usually try to play the same shot. Out here, that won't happen. Guys will sling it on the wind; other guys will hold it on the wind; others will hit it through the wind. All sorts of shots will be played and it's the way golf was meant to be."

One of the things Harrington has worked on since his arrival here has been his putting, working with Harold Swash - the man who has rejuvenated Darren Clarke's touch on the greens - because he felt his putting was "a little bit weak at the moment".

Clarke, meanwhile, stayed on in Scotland after his runner-up finish in the Scottish Open and played Scabo Castle.,He plans to arrive in Sandwich today.

Gary Murphy paid a quick visit to Baltray yesterday before moving on to Sandwich for what will be his second British Open appearance. Now that he has secured his card for next season, Murphy can reset his season's goals and playing here is "a bonus".

The Kilkenny man's finish in the Scottish Open brought the biggest pay cheque of his career, but he remarked: "The money is great but it's the congratulations of my peers that really matters. I merited my play out there. I always believed in myself and I've proved that I am capable of golfing my ball around a course." Murphy's only previous British Open appearance came at Troon in 1997 when he missed the cut.