GOLF:The past week has been a circus. Between meeting the great and the good and the ordinary, Padraig Harrington - who, as the newest British Open champion, didn't lift a club in anger until his appearance in a charity outing at The K Club yesterday - has spent his time taking the Claret Jug in a shopping carrier bag from the restaurant table of his local pizza restaurant to those of government buildings and being treated like royalty.

Next week, though, it is back to business as usual when the 35-year-old Dubliner plays in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio. It will be the start of a stint in the United States that could last for up to seven weeks, possibly ending with the Tour Championship, and his new status as a major champion - combined with the impending arrival of a second child in late November - has meant a rescheduling of his tour itinerary for the rest of the season.

One definite casualty, however, is the World Cup in China on November 22nd-25th, as it is too close to his wife Caroline's due date. It will be the first time since 1996 that Harrington won't be part of an Ireland team in the championship.

For Harrington, life gets back to some degree of normality with the Bridgestone next week.

And the player is grateful that his return to competition is in a 72-holes stroke play tournament that features no cut, so he is at least assured of four rounds of golf before moving on to the following week's US PGA championship at Southern Hills, where he will be grouped for the first two rounds with US Masters champion Zach Johnson and US Open champion Angel Cabrera.

"I'll probably be ready for Akron, although it will be a case of going with the flow. To be honest, I'm hoping for a honeymoon effect (after the Open win). I won't be out to prove anything. But I really hope to be ready for the PGA. I liked Southern Hills when we played the US Open there a few years ago. I found it to be fair and playable. My expectations aren't too high and my preparations won't be ideal but that was also the case for the Irish Open (in May) and I won that event," said Harrington.

Indeed, as far as the golfer is concerned, one of the more important phone calls he took during this past week was from Michael Campbell, the US Open champion in 2005 and one of his closest friends on tour. After the Kiwi won his major in Pinehurst, he professed that he found it difficult to lift his legs out of bed for many months after. In their conversation, Campbell advised Harrington: "You mustn't feel this is the end of the journey." Harrington is determined for that not to happen.

"Michael regarded the US Open win as the pinnacle. I shouldn't think like that. I already know there is more to be done. I'm a professional golfer. How would I feel if I won a major and failed to perform after that? If I'm not performing in two or three weeks I'll start wondering," he said, adding: "Nobody can take this major away from me and my next goal is to win another major. I want to win more tournaments and to play good golf."

Indeed, apart from winning another major, Harrington - who won the European Tour Order of Merit last year and is top of this year's money list again - has also set his sights on retaining that particular title and has confirmed he will play in the end-of-season Volvo Masters.

For the next while, though, his efforts will be concentrated in the United States. He plays the Bridgestone next week followed by the US PGA and, then, after a family break in Disneyland, he will play the FedEx Cup series of tournaments that takes in the Barclays Classic in Westchester, the Deutsche Bank in Boston and the BMW in Chicago, and most likely the Tour Championship in Atlanta should he finish in the top 30 of the money list.

Which should put a hold on one of the three places that he would like to showcase the Claret Jug - at Croke Park when Dublin are playing. "I'm going to be away for the next seven weeks, so that's going to be difficult," said Harrington, who also intends attending at least one of Ireland's rugby World Cup matches in France and going to one of Sunderland's home matches. The one-time Leeds fan, it seems, has found a new team.