US TOUR BARCLAYS CLASSIC:PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON will end a well-deserved break after his PGA Championship victory nine days ago to resume his pursuit of golf's big prizes in this week's Barclays Classic.
The Dubliner, who has won three majors after adding the PGA crown to his second British Open victory last month, said on Tuesday he would have liked another week off after house-hunting in North Carolina.
The PGA Tour's FedExCup playoffs begin at Ridgewood Country Club today, however, and the stakes are high. The 36-year-old Harrington is in with a good chance of taking the title Player of the Year, and victory here would be huge in that context.
Harrington, who ranks third in the world behind Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, is among 136 players from 15 countries playing in the opening event of the FedExCup series, where the overall points leader collects €6.8 million.
Last year, most of the bonus won by FedExCup champion Tiger Woods came as a deferred payment. This year the playoffs winner will pocket €6.1 million in cash with €700,000 deferred.
The Barclays, with a top prize of €860,000, is the first of four FedExCup tournaments.
The top 120 on the points list following this week's event qualify for the Deutsche Bank Championship starting on August 29th in Boston. Seventy advance to the BMW Championship in St Louis on September 4th and 30 go on to the Tour Championship finale, on September 25th in Atlanta.
The top points earners going in are the Americans Kenny Perry (99,500) and Mickelson (99,250), followed by Harrington (99,000).
The winner of the Barclays gets 11,000 points, the runner-up 7,400 and the 10th-placer 3,350.
Three major wins have not dispelled the fear of failure that is at the core of Harrington's success.
He said on Tuesday he wished he could take greater confidence from his titles.
"Most of my life I've been motivated by fear," he told reporters.
"I took no confidence out of winning the Open last year. I still played the same way for the following year. One of the things I said after the PGA was in order for me to move to the next level (I had) to take some confidence winning three majors.
"I'd love to say to you that I will turn up and play this week and stand on the first tee and strut my stuff, but that's just not what I'm like. Generally, when I play my best golf I stand over every shot worrying about where I'm going to miss it.
"I'd love to be . . . the guy who doesn't see the miss and stand there and play with that confidence, and stop the reliance on adrenaline and intensity in order to get the best . . . out of myself."
But after a fantastic finish with the putter at the PGA, he said his focus was such that he clearly saw the line of every putt he had.
"When I do get focused, I do hole putts . . . I do need to have that bit of intensity to do it. When you get that in majors down the back nine - when it's a do-or-die situation, it's easier to be focused. You see the hole and you knock them in."
