The British Open Champion/Credit for a team effort:A guru is only as good as his protege. John O'Sullivan talks to some of those entitled to bask in the reflected glory from last weekend at Carnoustie

The American poet Robert Frost beautifully encapsulates in his poem The Road Not Taken how there comes a point where a decision must be made that will impact upon a person's life in terms of the path he pursues; the decision marks the beginning of a journey into the unknown.

In September 1995, Padraig Harrington, a hugely successful amateur golfer and Walker Cup player, decided to turn professional. The premise for his choice was that several of his contemporaries from the non-paid ranks - golfers against whom he had thrived - were earning a living from the sport so why should not he.

He had qualified as an accountant and the self-confessed summit of his ambition was to acquit himself adequately as a "journeyman professional".

He duly earned a full card from the European Tour qualifying school, and his progress was meteoric; he made the cut in his first nine tournaments, posting five top-10 finishes and winning the Spanish Open along the way.

It was at that point Harrington jettisoned his pact with safe mediocrity and decided to risk everything in pursuit of maximising his potential.

He formed relationships at that point that would shape his career on and off the fairways in terms of coaching, management, fitness, sponsorship; he reconditioned his swing, body and mind.

His decision in 1996 to seek the assistance of the renowned coach Bob Torrance and initiate the laborious process of constructing a new swing offers a revealing snapshot of Harrington's character.

The term "work ethic" can seem glib when dropped into sporting contexts but the Dubliner possessed a voracious appetite and a willingness to listen, learn and beat balls ad nauseam.

The practice ground was to prove his favourite theatre, an antidote to the travails of the course. He trusted Torrance implicitly, and the rapport that extended beyond that of mere teacher and pupil.

There's no fairytale timeline to this story, as is illustrated by the starting point.

The Scot with the grade-four-sandpaper rasp once observed, "The first time I set eyes on Padraig's swing, it was obvious we had some work to do. He had no leverage. He hit the ball no distance. He was a poor striker."

There are no sepia tones to the 11-year swing expedition that eventually yielded a British Open Championship at Carnoustie last Sunday. Harrington earned his triumph by dint of hard graft. Torrance approved: "He's the ideal pupil for any man to work with. He's dedicated, very willing to learn. It's like a father-and-son relationship.

"He is prepared to get worse in order to get better. Not many are. He will work on something until he gets it. There are no shortcuts in this game."

So how does he rate Padraig as a pupil?

"He's the best; because he does what he's told. I'm delighted for him and very proud."

Harrington's decision to turn professional also brokered another relationship that has endured. Adrian Mitchell trained as a chartered accountant before joining IMG in March 1994 as financial controller for Europe. The following year he transferred to the "Golf Clients" division to manage some of IMG's European-based clients. One of his first assignments was Harrington, whom he has represented ever since.

Having played the sport from the age of 10 - he's currently off two - Mitchell would admit his profession is his passion.

So how does he define his role?

"My remit is to deal with all of Padraig's business affairs, my primary focus being to maximise his off-course commercial opportunities whilst building his 'brand', managing his schedule and the relationships with his commercial partners, allowing Padraig to concentrate on his golf.

"My role with Padraig has not changed significantly in terms of the responsibilities involved, but as he has achieved more and more over the years, so the scale of interest in him, and activity surrounding him, has evolved and grown. As a consequence, my role has naturally become increasingly involved, not to mention busier.

"We are very careful in balancing Padraig's time between his commercial activities, including design visits, corporate commitments and media appearances, with important family time, practice time, fitness conditioning and rest, especially given that Padraig gives 100 per cent in everything he does."

"I feel extremely fortunate to have been involved in Padraig's career from the day he turned pro. To me he is the consummate professional. I have witnessed the devotion and work ethic he dedicates to the game, and as a consequence his achievements are so deserved as they have been obtained through sheer hard work and desire.

"His Open win was no surprise, it being the next step on his way to becoming the best player he can be."

Charged with overseeing Harrington's physical metamorphosis, one that cut his weight from 15 to 13 stone, was the IRFU's current director of fitness, Liam Hennessy. The pair met through Harrington's brother Tadhg. Hennessy smiled: "He was a joy to work with from the start.

"No other athlete put in the same commitment and that's not a reflection on others. If Padraig thought by going to Siberia you'd get an inch further down the line (of physical development) then he'd be on that plane.

"It was about incremental improvements, tiny fractions at a time, and an unbending will when it came to the hard work required.

"We have worked together for nine years and for me it has been a privilege. The excitement of working with Padraig is doing things that no one else is doing. It's not about building routines from text books. If you are doing that you're going backwards. It's about pushing boundaries.

"When I met him back in 1998, I stopped him running on treadmills. His routine is now well established, providing a foundation. It's not typical of what golfers do.

"He's very receptive to new ideas. If you asked him to work out at 2am in a different time zone, he'd do it. He wants to be the best he can be; it's a wonderful attitude.

"You can't really compare fitness across sports but in certain areas Padraig would be right up there with the best. It's been a great adventure."

Hennessy was transfixed like most of the country last Sunday when watching the final throes of the British Open. When the Leinster and Ireland rugby wing Shane Horgan sent him a text, "What d'you think?" Hennessy replied, "Sshhh."

In recent times Harrington has called upon the advice of the Birmingham-based sports-science graduate and biomechanist Dr Paul Hurrian to supplement his training regime with a specific emphasis on the golf swing. Hurrian has been dubbed the "putting professor", and besides Harrington, David Howell and Lee Westwood are among his disciples.

Walk down the line of golfers on the range at a professional tournament and there is considerable uniformity in high-quality ball striking, but position competitors between a couple of tee markers and watch games unravel.

Mental resilience in golf is a hugely prized attribute. Harrington realised he needed to train his mind and so 11 years ago he pitched up to the basement of the American golf psychologist Dr Bob Rotella.

Harrington had read one of Rotella's best-selling golfing tomes and was taken by the author's assertion he would rather meet someone with great dreams than a great person with no dreams.

Rotella and Harrington spoke daily at Carnoustie; they were captured by the television cameras on the putting green prior to Sunday's playoff.

Rotella offered a resume of over a decade of collaboration: "We worked for a long time on self-acceptance of anything and everything that happens and no matter how hard you work, you are going to make mistakes.

"It is a game, and you have got to accept it. And to watch him hit two balls in the water and then stay cool, then get that ball up and down, was something I will never forget. I told him on the putting green as we were waiting for the play-off, 'If there is anything about yourself you have ever wanted to know, you just found out with that up-and-down. You have got what it takes.'

"We work so hard on living in the moment. Our goal for the day was to be into your target and turn it loose unconsciously, and accept it wherever it goes. We don't want to be thinking about winning on the golf course, we don't want to think about not winning. We don't want to get excited if you get off to a great start. We don't want to get down if you have a bad start.

"I don't want you to care what anyone else is doing. We don't have any control about Sergio (Garcia) or anyone else. Let's just take care of you.

"I told Padraig, 'I want you to run out of holes like a track man running through the tape. If a track man starts slowing down before the tape, he'll lose time. I want you to just run out of holes and then find out how you did.

"It is so wonderful for him because he is so damn honest. He doesn't kid himself. He said to me when we were waiting for the play-off, 'I told you, Doc: nothing ever comes easy to me. But we are going to get this.'

"I am just happy for him. And you know, no one is going to treat people better and it won't change Padraig one bit. He is just a good person."

Rotella is not alone in expressing that final sentiment. The ancillary obligations of professional sport outside actually playing are often ignored or at best briefly tolerated by players. Harrington's attitude is exemplary, whether it's signing autographs, fulfilling media or sponsorship responsibilities, or involving himself in charity work. His commitment to doing his best is replicated on and off the golf course.

Another relationship established in the early throes of Harrington's career was a sponsorship agreement with the Irish clothing firm Kartel - he is also in a long-standing arrangements with Hi Tec shoes and Wilson golf clubs - and he sports their gear to this day.

Kartel's managing director Alan Swan explains why the young golfer was chosen as the poster boy for a clothing firm whose golf line accounts for only 30 per cent of their business: 70 per cent is devoted to what they call their lifestyle brand of suits, jackets and casual wear.

"We started with Padraig in 1996. We were an Irish company looking for a young, talented sportsman. He was a good-looking guy with a good physique, and on meeting him we discovered he was a very genuine person without a hint of the prima donna.

"It was an easy decision and over the years got to know his late dad, Paddy, his mum, Breda, Caroline and all his family very well. I suppose we have a closer relationship than most sponsors might have with their clients and I like to think we're friends.

"He's been a pleasure to work with and I suppose one example of his easy-going nature was when we asked him to do a photo shoot. It was to launch the 2008 range and he suggested we did it up in his house. We were shooting outside when it started to bucket down with rain.

"We had to take a break inside and he asked me how my golf was. I told him it was fine except for my putting. I promptly received a 45-minute putting lesson.

"No sooner had we gone back outside than the rain resumed. Most people would have called off the shoot but Padraig stood in the rain just to get it finished.

"It's funny the things that strike you. At the Sporting Emporium (in Dublin) last Monday night myself and my wife were present and I happened to catch Padraig's eye after about 15 minutes. He excused himself and walked over and thanked me for coming as if I needed to be thanked for coming to celebrate his fantastic achievement. But that in essence is what Padraig's like, a genuinely nice guy who hasn't let success go to his head."

That grounding undoubtedly came from his mother, father and brothers, the support he receives from his wife, Caroline, and the release in just being able to have some fun with his son, Paddy. Then there is his brother-in-law and caddie, Ronan Flood, who is Sancho Panza to Harrington's Don Quixote.

The two are also friends who share common interests that help break the monotony of professional golf.

"On the fairways I suppose we talk about cinema a lot of the time," says Ronan. "We would share a similar interest in films and there are very few that would be dismissed out of hand.

"We both have a background in business so we'd look at the business pages in the Irish newspapers and discuss them. We are interested in world affairs so we'd pick up newspapers and log on a couple of times a day to find out what's going on at home.

"The amount of banter would depend on who we are playing with on a certain day. Sometimes I wouldn't talk much because Padraig would be chatting away, while on other occasions we'd spend more time walking."

The pair have encountered some weird and wacky behaviour.

"I suppose one incident would be the Wachovia tournament at Quail Hollow golf club, two years ago," recalls Ronan. "Padraig had just taken a quadruple bogey eight at the driveable par-four 14th and we were heading for the next tee when a girl flashed a shamrock tattoo that was below her belt line. It was pretty bizarre."

So how would he sum up the essence of Harrington's appeal.

"He's got the classic boy-next-door appeal," explains the brother-in-law. "Housewives love him and so do children. He is a genuinely nice guy, the type all mothers would like to marry their daughters."

In case you think, however, that Harrington is too sweet to be wholesome, it's worth noting the world number six doesn't make any allowances when it comes to playing the family for money. Flood, a fine golfer with a two handicap, has been known to be handed 12 to 15 shots on a TPC course - followed by a sound hiding.

Nor is Harrington averse to chastising his father-in-law, Dermot Gregan, on the fairways; on one occasion he gave Caroline's father his handicap six shots over the Valderrama course before winning the € 100 wager early in the back nine en route to shooting a 64. It's not personal; it's just golf.

The 2007 British Open champion comes across as a very personable, mannerly, hardworking, modest sportsman who disproves the adage that nice guys finish last.

And since we started with the poet Robert Frost it may be appropriate to finish with him. The concluding lines of The Road Not Taken could well have been written for Padraig Harrington: "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference."

Harrington's team

Adrian Mitchell (agent)

The Englishman works for IMG and is Harrington's agent, a role he has fulfilled with Ronan Rafferty and the former US Open champion Michael Campbell among others. Personable and discreet, he has been with Harrington since the Irishman turned professional almost 12 years ago and is an integral part of the backroom team.

Bob Torrance (coach)

The 75-year-old Scot is father of the former Ryder Cup player and captain Sam Torrance and has coached some of Europe's top players, including Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood, Ian Woosnam, Thomas Bjorn and Paul McGinley.

His working relationship with Harrington is an 11-year one, and he describes the bond as similar to that between a father and son, founded on mutual respect and a commitment to hard work.

He teaches at the Inverclyde driving range near his home in Largs, Ayrshire.

Bob Rotella (psychologist)

The American is the bestselling author of Golf Is not a Game of Perfect, rated as the bestselling sports psychology tome of all time and one of the three highest-selling golf books in history. He is also the author of Golf Is a Game of Confidence, The Golf of Your Dreams, Life Is not a Perfect Game, and Putting out of Your Mind. His other commitments (outside working with numerous golfers) include being a columnist and editorial board member for Golf Digest Magazine, contributing editor for Sports Psychology Magazine and the mental coach to the New York Yankees, San Francisco 49ers, New Jersey Nets, Texas Rangers and US Olympic ski and equestrian teams. He has worked with Harrington since late 1997.

Liam Hennessy (fitness consultant)

The IRFU's national director of fitness since 2000. The Cappawhite native is responsible for the fitness programmes of all the national and provincial rugby teams in Ireland as well as club and schools teams. The former Olympic pole-vaulter was once a fitness consultant to Bayern Munich and was involved with Irish teams at the Olympics in Barcelona and Atlanta. He has also worked with the Tipperary hurling team and with individual competitors across several professional and amateur sports. He's worked with Harrington for nine years.

Ronan Flood (caddie)

A two-handicap golfer and former bank official. He is Padraig's brother-in-law and initially took on the position of his caddie in 2004 on a one-year agreement, succeeding Dave McNeilly. He took a sabbatical from banking to do so but has since agreed to remain in the role. Apart from their official relationship the two are good friends. Flood is well versed in the demands of keeping his golfer focused and that can include fairway discussions on other topics besides golf. It's been a very productive partnership.

Paul Hurrian (sports scientist)

A sports science lecturer and biomechanist based in Birmingham, he has worked with Harrington on devising specific exercises related to the fundamentals of the golf swing. He's also been dubbed the "putting professor", because of his work in analysing the putting stroke with slow-motion cameras and mirrors.

Dr Dale Richardson (physio)

The Australian graduated as a doctor of chiropractic from RMIT University, Melbourne, in 1980 and moved into golf nine years later establishing a team of chiropractors, physiotherapists, masseurs, podiatrists, fitness consultants, psychologists and sports-medicine doctors. After Nick Faldo asked him in 1997 to travel with him on Tour, Richardson launched a personalised player-consultancy service, ProGolf Health, which has helped many elite players, including Harrington. Richardson has been invited to be part of the sports-medicine support for the European Ryder Cup team and the International team at the President's Cup. He serves on the Health and Fitness Advisory Board of the Titleist Performance Institute.