Tour Scene News round-up: By a rather convoluted route, all roads - and flight paths - lead to Chicago next week for the season's second major, the US Open, at Olympia Fields.
For Ireland's two leading players, Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke, both of whom have committed to extended playing itineraries in the US next season, the build-ups are vastly different, with the pair competing this week on opposite sides of the Atlantic.
Harrington, now hot on the heels of Phil Mickelson, the world number six, in the latest official rankings, has chosen to play in the Capital Open, formerly known as the Kemper, on the US Tour in Maryland. Clarke - after a week's break, much of it spent on the putting green - remains in Europe to play the British Masters on a course, the Forest of Arden, that has been kinder to him than any other in his professional career.
In terms of the future, the two players, however, realise that more of their time will be spent in America. Indeed, Harrington's decision to follow Clarke as a temporary member of the US PGA Tour - he filed the paperwork last week - has been in the pipeline since his second-place finish in the Players Championship in March, where he earned sufficient money in one fell swoop to meet the criteria for membership.
At the following month's Masters, where Clarke revealed he had filed his application for temporary membership, Harrington also said he had received all the documentation from the US PGA Tour and was considering a similar move.
Now he has made it, it means Harrington - like Clarke - doesn't have to seek out limited sponsors' invitations to play there. In effect, he can pick and choose where and when he wants to play.
"It'll probably mean I can't play as much around the world as I have done, and that is something I will have to take a close look at," conceded Harrington, who finished tied-13th in the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, where Kenny Perry added the title to the Colonial he won the previous week.
However, Harrington insisted also that the European Tour would remain his "number one tour".
The advent of the world golf championships (WGC), in effect, has made the decision easier for the likes of Harrington and Clarke. Three of the WGC events - the Accenture matchplay, the NEC Invitational and the American Express championship - count towards both the European Tour and US Tour money lists, as do all four majors. It means that those playing in all seven events are effectively almost halfway towards completing their playing obligations on both tours.
Of non-exempt members on the US Tour, Harrington has won $723,000 from five events this season, which places him top of the non-exempt money list and would actually put him in at 50th in the full money list. Clarke has won $608,778 from seven tournaments in the US, which would place him 55th in the money list, and he actually qualifies to be counted on that list after the US Open, which could well open up some further end-of-season options for him.
The immediate concern for Clarke is this week's British Masters at the Forest of Arden. After taking the lead in the first round of his most recent event, the Volvo PGA, and also leading at half-way, Clarke fell away when some complacent double-bogeys were recorded and his problems with the putter continued.
If he wanted a pick-me-up prior to heading off for the US Open, there is no better course than the Forest of Arden to provide it. He has a remarkable record there. The course has staged the now defunct English Open seven times in the past decade and no one has played better than Clarke, who has two wins and four other top-five finishes in his appearances there.
"If there is one course I would willingly roll up, pop under my arm and transplant wherever I am playing around the globe, it is the Forest of Arden," said Clarke. "I have so many happy memories. But it is not only that. It is a true test of golf, not just a few aspects of the game - and that's how I like my courses."
Clarke is one of seven members of Europe's Ryder Cup-winning team competing in the British Masters, the others being Paul McGinley, Colin Montgomerie,Thomas Bjorn, Pierre Fulke, Phillip Price and Lee Westwood.
McGinley has missed the cut in two of his last three tournaments, and his slide down the world rankings means he doesn't get into the US Open, so he will be desperately keen to show an improvement. The other Irish players in the British Masters field - which has a €348,312 top prize - are Peter Lawrie, Graeme McDowell, Ronan Rafferty, Gary Murphy and Damien McGrane.
On the Champions Tour, Des Smyth - who collected $13,471 for his tied-22nd finish in the Music City tournament in Nashville last weekend, which puts him at 14th in the seniors money list with $448,409 - and Christy O'Connor jnr are in the field for the Senior PGA Championship at the Inverness club in Toledo this weekend.
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods won't reappear again until he defends his US Open title in Olympia Fields. Woods closed with a seven-under-par 65 at Muirfield Village on Sunday to take fourth place in the Memorial behind winner Perry - but it was one of those occasions for Woods when it was not about how many but about how.
It was important for Woods to hit some quality shots, to build confidence and to improve the comfort level with his new golf ball, which he used for the first time in the TPC of Europe in Hamburg two weeks ago. And he did that.
Woods played the course at Olympia Fields last week, after which he said he expected to hit driver only four or five times on the 7,188-yard, par 70 configuration.
"There are a lot of angles. You have to shape the golf ball and you have to make a decision on your carries, what line you are going to take," he said.
"I'm focusing on hitting it flush, controlling my flight and getting adjusted to this new ball. Things are starting to show real positive signs and I am pleased about that."
