Tour News: Golfing irony won't be lost on Padraig Harrington this week as he prepares to resume his love-hate association with the West Course at Wentworth, the venue for this week's €4 million BMW Championship (or, as it was in its former life, the PGA Championship).
The Dubliner has enjoyed a somewhat unusual relationship with Wentworth: he loves it in the autumn, when it plays host to the World Matchplay championship; but hates it in the early-summer when it traditionally plays host to the PGA at a time when the greens are over-seeding.
Yet, he returns to this tournament - having bypassed it for the past two years - this year knowing it will determine whether he remains in the world's top-10.
Despite finishing fifth in the Irish Open at the weekend, Harrington slipped from ninth to 10th in the latest world rankings which see Vijay Singh return to the world's number one spot at the expense of Tiger Woods.
Incidentally, Stephen Dodd's second victory of the PGA European tour season at Carton House catapulted him up the world rankings from 103rd to a best-ever 56th and within tantalising reach of a debut appearance in next month's US Open at Pinehurst.
The top 50 ranked players in the world rankings after the Championsip earn automatic entry into the season's second major.
Another route in for Dodd would be to move into the top two on the Order of Merit - he is currently fourth - but leading pair Retief Goosen and Ernie Els are also in the field at Wentworth. In fact, 15 of the top 50 players in the world are playing, among them 11 members of last year's winning Ryder Cup team. Sergio Garcia is the only absentee.
Like Dodd, Scotland's Colin Montgomerie is another attempting to make significant ground in the world rankings to avoid having to qualify for the US Open.
Monty is currently 53rd in the world and reckons he needs a top-five finish at Wentworth to achieve his goal. Despite failing to win a title since the 1999 Dubai Desert Classic, David Howell - who lost a play-off to Dodd in Carton House - has moved to a career-high 30th in the world rankings.
There are 11 Irish players in the field for the Championship: Harrington, Darren Clarke, Graeme McDowell, David Higgins, Philip Walton, Connor Mallon, Finbarr Madden (a club professional in England), Paul McGinley Gary Murphy, Peter Lawrie and Damien McGrane, who returns after missing the Irish Open due to his daughter's communion.
Meanwhile, Colm Moriarty, after a career-high 13th place finish in the Irish Open, returns to the Challenge Tour for the Moroccan Classic where he will be joined by Danny Sugrue, Michael Hoey and Tim Rice in the line-up.
World Rankings:
1 V Singh (Fij) 12.85pts ave
2 T Woods (USA) 12.63
3 E Els (Rsa) 10.74
4 P Mickelson (USA) 9.18
5 R Goosen (Rsa) 7.91
6 A Scott (Aus) 5.66
7 C DiMarco (USA) 5.57
8 S Garcia (Spa) 5.42
9 K Perry (USA) 5.40
10 P Harrington (Irl) 5.24
11 D Toms (USA) 5.13
12 L Donald (Eng) 4.67
13 S Cink (USA) 4.39
14 D Clarke (NIrl) 4.18
15 M Weir (Can) 4.07
40 G McDowell (NIrl) 2.43
68 P McGinley (Irl) 1.79
European Order of Merit:
1 R Goosen (Rsa) 946,479
2 E Els (Rsa) 819,415
3 T Bjorn (Den) 795,074
4 S Dodd (Brit) 764,373
5 D Howell (Brit) 707,416
6 A Scott (Aus) 523,209
7 L Donald (Brit) 488,731
8 S Webster (Brit) 433,543
9 N O'Hern (Aus) 415,188
10 I Poulter (Brit) €407,424
11 M A Jimenez (Spa) 398,281
12 H Stenson (Swe) 370,098
13 N Dougherty (Brit) 361,141
14 C Montgomerie (Brit) 338,133
15 P Hanson (Swe) €330,632
Irish placings
25 P McGinley 236,028
27 D Clarke 224,657
33 P Harrington 213,906
43 P Lawrie 190,180
58 G McDowell 122,218
63 D McGrane 108,312
81 G Murphy 79,464
139 D Higgins €40,800; 165 C Moriarty 30,100; 197 M Hoey 18,034; 233 S Browne 8,149; 287 P Walton €1,107.
