European OpenIn his own mind, Padraig Harrington has a series of targets. For much of the past few weeks and months his primary objective had to do with making the team for a certain jamboree due to take place at The K Club in September. It was a pressure-filled environment.

Now that he is all but assured of being part of Europe's Ryder Cup team, the Dubliner has looked for alternate motivation; like topping the European Tour's Order of Merit. Why not? Before his fifth place finish in the US Open, Harrington was 18th on the European money list. After his runner-up finish in last week's French Open, he has risen to third. The gap to be closed on David Howell is a large one, but one that's not beyond Harrington's scope, as he well knows. With so many big-money tournaments on the horizon, the chase is on.

"I like having motivation, I've got to say. It's always good to have clear goals in front of you, clear targets. It's always good when you're chasing something and I certainly need something to reapply myself. It's good to have things staring in front of you, that keep you motivated. It's nice to be chasing something," he insisted.

To achieve that aim of overhauling Howell, who has decided not to play here in the Smurfit Kappa European Open after an exhausting recent itinerary, Harrington must first rediscover the art of winning. It's a feeling that has not been part of his make-up in over a year, since the 2005 Barclays Classic, but his recent form - fifth-second-second in successive weeks - would indicate a sooner-rather-than-later return to winning ways.

"You need to have things go your way sometimes to win tournaments, you need to get a few breaks down the stretch or to do something well yourself . . . but the main thing is to keep getting into those positions, where you'll either do something right or somebody else will let you in there. I'm quite happy with my form from the last couple of weeks. If I can keep doing that, I'm sure I'll win an event or two," said Harrington.

Could it be this week? Harrington smiles, his mouth full of shiny white pearls with the broken tooth he suffered in a basketball knockabout in Maryland a couple of weeks ago now repaired. Two years ago, when everyone was in pursuit of champion Retief Goosen on this Smurfit Course, Harrington struggled with his course management. When he needed to be conservative in his shotmaking, he was too aggressive.

The memory floods back. "(In 2004), I definitely struggled on the golf course. I was definitely a little too over-confident. I took on far too many shots on a golf course that does have some treacherous shots . . . hopefully I'll have a little bit more patience (this time) and treat it a little different, maybe be a little bit more conservative in my strategy."

Harrington - installed as the pre-tournament favourite by the bookies, whether he likes it or not - comes in here with a strong vein of form, albeit admitting to some element of fatigue.

This will be his fifth tournament in a row, and his eighth in nine weeks. "Yeah, there's a certain element of fatigue. I was trying to qualify for the Ryder Cup and I've done that. Now I've got to regroup. That's a difficult thing to do, to refocus. It would be very easy for me to say, 'well, I qualified there last week'. It was the genuine goal, but this is a very big tournament in its own right and I want to keep going, to keep motivated for this week. And I will."

If a degree of self-pride can be allowed to creep into Harrington's mindset, what he has achieved in the past few weeks has also impressed Europe's Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam. "I was never that worried (about Harrington making the team)," said Woosie. "He was always there on the mark, not too far away. I would say he was basically in second gear."

Now that Harrington, it would seem, has shifted into a higher gear, the better results have come thick and fast. He has had four top-10 finishes in his last five tournaments, and three top-five in his last four.

That's the form of a player playing with considerable confidence.

Much of the reason for Harrington's return to contending in tournaments has been an improvement with his putter, the most important club in the bag. "You go through periods in the year where you can't hole putts. The last couple of weeks, putts have gone in each day. It adds up at the end of the week, it helps you play better. It's a huge amount to do with a good mental approach on the golf course, full stop. And mentally I'm better on the course than I was at the start of the year. It all adds up."

K Club tee times

1st tee Thursday (10th Tee Friday)

7.30 (12.20) - G Clark (Eng), D Bransdon (Aus), N Colsearts (Bel)

7.40 (12.30) - P Dwyer (Eng), W Schauman (Swe), P Baker (Eng)

7.50 (12.40) - W Abery (SA), S Jeppesen (Swe), O Wilson (Eng)

8.00 (12.50) - M Olander (Swe), C Cevaer (Fr), M Lundberg (Swe)

8.10 (1.00) - G Murphy (Ire), A Romero (Arg), P Archer (Eng)

8.20 (1.10) - S Thornton (Ire), S Webster (Eng), W Ormsby (Aus)

8.30 (1.20) - I Garrido (Sp), B Lane (Eng), A Wall (Eng)

8.40 (1.30) - J Spence (Eng), J Donaldson (Wal), M Cayeux (Zim)

8.50 (1.40) - S Kjeldsen (Den), G Storm (Eng), G Fernandez-Castano (Sp)

9.00 (1.50) - P O'Malley (Aus), J Haeggman (Swe), M Tunnicliff (Eng)

9.10 (2.00) - J Van de Velde (Fr), R Gonzalez (Arg), B Dredge (Wal)

9.20 (2.10) - T Whitehouse (Eng), A Tadini (It), E Romero (Arg)

9.30 (2.20) - A Marshall (Eng), A Haig (SA), I Garbutt (Eng)

12.20 (7.30) - A Butterfield (Eng), M Hoey (Ire), D Higgins (Ire)

12.30 (7.40) - C Schwartzel (SA), S Lyle (Scot), R Green (Aus)

12.40 (7.50) - M Campbell (NZ), T Lehman (USA), C Montgomerie (Scot)

12.50 (8.00) - L Westwood (Eng), K Ferrie (Eng), D Clarke (Ire)

1.00 (8.10) - I Woosnam (Wal), P McGinley (Ire), MA Jimenez (Sp)

1.10 (8.20) - Peter Lawrie (Ire), N Dougherty (Eng), PU Johansson (Swe)

1.20 (8.30) - M Erlandsson (Swe), S Drummond (Scot), R Coles (Eng)

1.30 (8.40) - M Fraser (Aus), B McGovern (Ire), D Vancsik (Arg)

1.40 (8.50) - A Canete (Arg), S Hamill (Ire), R McEvoy (Eng)

1.50 (9.00) - S Dyson (Eng), P Golding (Eng), A Forsyth (Scot)

2.00 (9.10) - S Hansen (Den), S Browne (Ire), D Lynn (Eng)

2.10 (9.20) - D Carter (Eng), M Foster (Eng), R Bland (Eng)

2.20 (9.30) - M Roe (Eng), C Suneson (Sp), G Evans (Eng)

10th Tee Thursday (1st Tee Friday)

7.30 (12.20) - R Gomez (Arg), MA Martin (Sp), D Griffiths (Eng)

7.40 (12.30) - P Price (Wal), S Khan (Eng), Paul Lawrie (Scot)

7.50 (12.40) - I Poulter (Eng), R Goosen (SA), G McDowell (Ire)

8.00 (12.50) - P Casey (Eng), J Bickerton (Eng), H Stenson (Swe)

8.10 (1.00) - P Harrington (Ire), P Broadhurst (Eng), A Cabrera (Arg)

8.20 (1.10) - N Fasth (Swe), M Brier (Aut), R Karlsson (Swe)

8.30 (1.20) - R Fisher (Eng), P Walton (Ire), A Coltart (Scot)

8.40 (1.30) - L Westerberg (Swe), P Fowler (Aus), C Nilsson (Swe) 8.50 (1.40) - S Wakefield (Eng), B Rumford (Aus), RJ Derksen (Neth)

9.00 (1.50) - J Kingston (SA), Sam Little (Eng), D Dixon (Eng)

9.10 (2.00) - F Delamontagne (Fr), R Sterne (SA), R Jacquelin (Fr)

9.20 (2.10) - J Sandelin (Swe), J Randhawa (Ind), A Rocha (Br)

9.30 (2.20) - D Park (Wal), M Millar (Aus), G Houston (Wal)

12.20 (7.30) - A Hansen (Den), Stuart Little (Eng), JM Singh (Ind) 12.30 (7.40) - J Backstrom (Swe), T Jaidee (Thai), C Monasterio (Arg)

12.40 (7.50) - S O'Hara (Scot), E Canonica (It), R Finch (Eng) 12.50 (8.00) - K Stadler (USA), P Gustafsson (Swe), M Lafeber (Neth)

1.00 (8.10) - S Dodd (Wal), M Siem (Ger), G Emerson (Eng)

1.10 (8.20) - A Oldcorn (Scot), JF Lima (Port), JM Lara (Sp)

1.20 (8.30) - JF Lucquin (Fr), P Hanson (Swe), A McLardy (SA)

1.30 (8.40) - P Senior (Aus), F Molinari (It), D McGrane (Ire)

1.40 (8.50) - M Carballo (Arg), M Elliasson (Swe), L Oosthuizen (SA)

1.50 (9.00) - B Barham (Eng), F Widmark (Swe), D Fichardt (SA)

2.00 (9.10) - S Gallacher (Scot), J Lomas (Eng), JF Remesy (Fr)

2.10 (9.20) - D Mortimer (Ire), S Luna (Sp), R Rock (Eng)

2.20 (9.30) - M Warren (Eng), M Kirk (SA), O Whiteley (Eng)