If any further incentive were required, then the fact a win in this week's limited-field Nedbank Challenge in Sun City would propel Padraig Harrington to a career-high fifth position in the official world rankings could well act as an additional motivating factor for him. Ranked eighth in the world, Harrington's highest ranking came when he reached sixth after his first Dunhill Links championship success in 2002.
At one point earlier this year, the Dubliner had dropped to 31st in the rankings but has risen to his present position after a season that saw him crowned European Tour Order of Merit winner and which has included two wins, in the Dunhill Links Championship in October and the Dunlop Phoenix in Japan just over a week ago.
The Nedbank Challenge has just 12 players, with a prize fund of $4.4 million. The winner will receive a cheque for $1.2 million, and Harrington is the lone Irishman in a field that also includes Ernie Els, defending champion Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, Trevor Immelman, David Howell, Chris DiMarco, Colin Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal.
There are reduced world ranking points on offer, but still a sufficient number to allow Harrington to move up to fifth should he win. It is the last event of 2006 that, for Harrington, offers world ranking points.
Harrington flew out to Sun City last Friday, for the first assignment of a three-week stint on the road that also takes in next week's World Cup in Barbados (where he will partner Paul McGinley for an 11th consecutive year) and the following week's Target World Challenge in California, where Darren Clarke, on an invitation from tournament host Tiger Woods, will also be playing.
With a seven-week break from tournament golf awaiting him once he finishes this stint, Harrington has confessed to feeling tired, mentally and physically. "I have been too tired to practice in the last couple of weeks. I can play the golf, but, realistically, I am going into these next three weeks needing to start well in the tournament or else there is trouble ahead. I think I can get the adrenaline going on Thursday morning (of a tournament) but I need a winter break, I know that.
"The main thing is when I do turn up, I've got to start well. If I can get off to a good start, that will keep the interest and the adrenaline going. I've got to be in these tournaments trying to win them. If you start slowly, it is hard to stay motivated . . . I know I am playing well enough to be capable of getting another win before Christmas."
As much as anything, the attempt to reach a career-high fifth in the world will be a powerful incentive for Harrington, who believes he is playing consistently better now than at any point in his career.
"I'm probably at the peak of what I have ever got to in terms of looking at a graph, consistency-wise . . . I certainly don't believe I have peaked. The day I believe I have peaked as a golfer is the day I will be retiring. I've got loads of good stuff to work on (over the winter) . . ."
Harrington has never won the Nedbank, but he holds the course record, having shot a 61 on the Gary Player course in 2001.
Two Irishmen, meanwhile, have made the journey to the New Zealand Open which is co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the Australasian Tour. Damien McGrane, who finished 25th in the Australian Masters, and Peter Lawrie, who missed the cut, are included in a field that is headed by former US Open champion Michael Campbell.
Justin Rose's win in the Australian Masters has moved the Englishman to 51st in the latest world rankings, an improvement of 18 places. He needs to get into the top 50 by the end of the year to earn an invitation to the US Masters in Augusta in April.
World Rankings
1 Tiger Woods (USA) 21.46pts
2 Jim Furyk (USA) 8.83
3 Phil Mickelson (USA) 7.76
4 Adam Scott (Aus) 7.42
5 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 6.20
6 Vijay Singh (Fij) 6.16
7 Ernie Els (Rsa) 5.87
8 Padraig Harrington (Ire) 5.71
9 Luke Donald (Eng) 5.69
10 Sergio Garcia (Spn) 5.54
11 Geoff Ogilvy (Aus) 5.49
12 Henrik Stenson (Swe) 4.55
