World Matchplay Championship: The fruits of his labours are increasingly evident to Padraig Harrington. Take this week's latest shindig for example, for the biggest financial prize in golf to whoever should prevail.

All the British Open champion has to do is peer over the rear fence of the house he is billeted in to see the 15th green on the West Course at Wentworth where, starting today with a first-round meeting with Denmark's Anders Hansen, he will set about exorcising what he calls "past demons" in the HSBC World Matchplay Championship.

Harrington's new-found stature as a Major champion has brought its own rewards, including the greenside mansion and his own personal chef for the duration. How long that stint will be remains to be seen. The thing with the World Matchplay, though, is that the Dubliner's stay in the leafy stockbroker belt could be for one day, or up to four. Such is the unpredictability of this form of golf.

"With this sort of event, you've got to have your very best game from Thursday morning and keep it for four days. It is not like a 72-holes strokeplay, when you have the an opportunity of building up all the way through the event," he said.

Those demons that Harrington was referring to related to a demoralising defeat in the final to Ian Woosnam in 2001, a head-to-head where he had the distinction of shooting an estimated 61 in the morning and was three-up and seemingly coasting after 24 holes only to capitulate.

"I always struggle with a lead, just lose a little bit of my intensity . . . and it definitely hurts when you do it," said Harrington, who observed that his game is no longer as suited to matchplay as it once was.

He explained: "The way I've progressed with my game as a professional, I've gotten more consistent. I'm steadier. I'm all of the things that I wasn't as a match player (as an amateur). It has kind of knocked the edge of my matchplay a bit.

"The last few times I've played matchplay, I've struggled to raise my game. When it has been put up to me, I've not had anything left in the tank . . . you just don't get into that frame of mind that's, you know, no holds barred."

Nevertheless, Harrington is up for this one. As things stand, his lead over Justin Rose at the top of the Order of Merit has been reduced to €31,407 and that, apart from the fact that there is a €1.44 million top prize on offer here, is a further incentive to him as he prepares to take on Hansen on a course where the Dane is a proven course specialist having twice won the BMW PGA, in 2001 and again this year.

"Anders is very comfortable on this golf course, so I've got to be ready to go as soon as I stand on the first tee. I've got to play my best from the start, and there is no point looking beyond the first round," said Harrington, who is making his sixth appearance in the tournament. His best performance was in that final defeat to Woosnam, while he was a semi-finalist in 1999 and again - losing to Ernie Els - on his last appearance in 2004.

Harrington added: "I'm just hoping that I still have the ability that, when the going gets tough, there's no negativity or defensiveness. That you just go out and hit the shot."

Certainly, Hansen hasn't been lulled into a false sense of security about Harrington's apparent dislike for the West Course.

"Padraig's proved himself year in, year out. Everybody says he doesn't like the course, but that doesn't matter when you play against a player of that calibre. He's a great player," insisted Hansen, who is making his debut in this particular event.

That supposed dislike of the course on Harrington's part doesn't actually apply at this time of the year, when the greens are perfect and have none of the over-seeding that is evident in May when the PGA is played. Also, Harrington believes that the renovations conducted by Ernie Els - such as reducing the hazard on the 12th and widening the 17th fairway, from 20 yards to 40 yards - make it friendlier to him. "When they tightened the fairways, it was getting to the stage of being a little bit of a lottery. I much prefer the course now."

Whoever emerges from the Harrington-Hansen match will come up against the winner of the Henrik Stenson-Woody Austin encounter. Harrington is determined his name goes down on the draw for tomorrow's second round.

"I think the difficulty after winning a big event like the Open, the pinnacle of my career so far, is finding that intensity every time I go out. I've got to be disciplined, to do the little things and work hard and, in many ways, grind it out."

It sounds like the right recipe for success.